Unknown Secrets
by Kristy-chan
Summary: Kaoru's best friend Sano just got a new roommate named Kenshin Himura and he seems to be a simple college student trying to get an education. But strange behaviours and disappearances cause Kaoru and Sano to get suspicious of the red head. KK, SM, AM
1. New Roommate

Disclaimer: I don't own Rurouni Kenshin, hence why I am writing fanfic…

> > > > > > Time/scene/ POV change

* * *

Chapter 1: 

Kaoru quickly made her way up the stairs of the building to her dorm. She kept her eyes on the steps beneath her feet as she ran up the steps as fast as she could. Her best friend Sanosuke Sagara had called her while she was driving home from school registration and asked her to come home quickly because his new roommate was moving in today. At first Kaoru wondered why she needed to come home if _his_ new roommate was moving in with _him_, but then she realized that Sano probably needed help getting his dorm cleaned up and reorganizing everything now that he wasn't going to be living on his own anymore.

So now Kaoru was bounding up the stairs, not watching where she was going, until she ran smack dab into someone's back, and not just anyone, but a college student trying to carry a little too many boxes up the stairs. Kaoru quickly grabbed onto the handrail with one hand to keep from falling and the kid grunted and dropped a big box that was perched precariously on top of two other boxes in his arms.

"I'm so sorry Miss," said Kaoru as she saw the long red hair falling from a high ponytail over the student's back. "I was in a rush and didn't watch where I was going. Let me help you with that box."

As Kaoru was about to pick up the dropped box, the girl with red hair turned her head to look over her shoulder, eyebrows twitching in annoyance, and Kaoru's eyes widened in surprise. She turned bright red as she realized that the girl was actually a guy. The boy was wearing cargo shorts that went below his knees and chains sticking out of his pockets. He had a navy blue t-shirt that was slightly baggy on him and he seemed to have a small build for a man, making it easy for people from behind to mistake him for a girl, especially with such long hair.

As Kaoru's eyes met his eyes, Kaoru was stunned to find them a deep violet color that didn't show any emotion whatsoever. The boy raised an eyebrow snapping Kaoru out of her present daze of staring at the strange kid in front of her.

"I...I just saw your hair…and then I just figured…that…that," she stuttered looking down at her shoes in embarrassment.

"Oi Ken! What's taking you so long? I told you not to take so many boxes," yelled a familiar voice from above. Kaoru looked up as Sano rounded the corner of the staircase and a smile broke out on his face. He was tall and had a skinny, yet muscular build that shouted "Don't mess with me or you'll be sorry!" to the whole world. His brown hair was always spiked up and he had a carefree aura around him that always seemed to help people relax.

"Hey Jou-chan! I see you've met my new roommate," he said with a grin. "Kaoru, this is Kenshin Himura. Kenshin this is my best friend Kaoru Kamiya. She's the one that was going to help us with our dorm."

Kenshin looked over his shoulder again and nodded in acknowledgement before carefully setting his boxes down to pick up the mess of clothes that had fallen out of the third box. Kaoru finally snapped out of her trance and squatted down beside the small man. She began helping him place the clothes into the box, mumbling apologies throughout the entire time. As they closed up the box, Kenshin stacked it on top of his other two boxes and lifted them up a little shakily. Kaoru grabbed the top box and smiled at him when he turned his confused eyes at her.

"I said I would help you with this box." Kaoru said beginning to climb up the stairs again. She saw Kenshin shrug and then follow her up the last flight of stairs to the 4th floor where their dorm was. Sano led the way as the three of them headed to a room with the door slightly ajar. Sano opened the door and Kaoru stepped inside followed by Kenshin and Sano. Sano closed the door behind him and headed for Kenshin's new room.

The dorm room was exactly like all the other dorms in the building. Upon entering, they were greeted with a decent sized living room, which was usually where the college students put their sofas, and TVs. Sano's was no different. His living room consisted of a comfortable black sofa and love seat with a big screen TV sitting in front of them. To the right of the living room was the kitchen with a small dining table between kitchen and living room. To the left, was a hallway leading to two rooms and a bathroom in between. There were three doors, and the one furthest in the hallway was half-way open revealing several boxes inside. The first door was Sano's room and at the end of the hall was a small closet filled with shelves.

They followed Sano to the bedroom and allowed Kenshin to go in first, since it was his room. Kaoru followed afterward and set the box on the floor next to the other boxes. Kenshin placed his boxes on the floor beside the closet and straightened up. Kaoru looked around. There was a desk beside the door and a bed frame without a mattress. There was a closet in the corner and a window looking over the front of the building.

"So…You want me to help you unpack and get settled?" Kaoru asked politely.

"I'll unpack later," Kenshin responded simply.

"Ok" Kaoru said. "….Now what?"

"Let's get the living room cleaned up," said Sano pulling Kaoru out the door followed by Kenshin.

Kaoru sighed as she really looked at the mess in his living room and kitchen. The sink was filled with unwashed dishes, and the trash was full. The living room was littered with old magazines and newspapers, DVDs, crumpled up paper, as well as some clothes, and books that he had picked up for his classes. The small coffee table in front of the sofa was covered in old chips, cookie crumbs, popcorn, cups of old soda, and anything else that you could think of.

"You're such a slob Sano!" cried out Kaoru as she grabbed several big plastic bags from their small pantry in the kitchen. She threw one to Sano who was munching on a bag of Doritos creating more crumbs to fall on the carpet.

"How can you live like this Sano?" she said throwing papers and candy wrappers into the bag.

"Well…it's really easy. You just leave things laying around when you're done with them and then ignore them until you have to clean it up, like now since my roomy here will have to sleep on the couch until we get him a bed," he said happily throwing more chips into his mouth.

"You don't mind do you Kenny?" said Sano throwing his arm around his shoulder and leaning on the smaller man.

Kenshin shook his head and said, "I don't mind." Kenshin pulled Sano's arm off and grabbed a bag that Kaoru had thrown on the ground. He began helping her pick up the mess.

"Oh Kenshin you don't have to do that. This is Sano's mess and he should be the one cleaning up," Kaoru said shooting Sano a glare.

Kenshin shrugged. "I don't mind," he said again.

"Sano! Get down here and help us or else I'm going home!" yelled Kaoru as Sano ignored her glare and continued to eat his bag of chips.

"Yeah, yeah," mumbled Sano as he dropped down to his knees and began gathering the trash into a pile and scooping them up into his arms.

Kaoru rolled her eyes and continued to clean up. After a while, she began glancing at Kenshin when he was facing the other way or not looking towards her direction. His hair seemed to gleam in the sunlight that was pouring from the window. It was such an unusual hair color for an Asian. Maybe he dyed it. If he did, he did a very good and detailed job of it. His eyes were also unusual. They were violet. Kaoru had never met anyone with purple eyes before. To say the least, they were a beautiful shade. He seemed to have a band aid covering his left check. Kaoru began wondering what had happened, but decided against asking him until they got to know him more. Besides, it could just be a cut, a really big cut, caused by an accident or something.

> > > > > > >

Kenshin continued to clean the room trying to ignore the looks that the girl was giving him. He could feel her eyes on him every time he turned around or looked away from her general direction and frankly, he was beginning to feel irritated. He was dead tired from the plane trip and his patience was beginning to run thin.

Kenshin sighed inwardly as he realized, after a few more minutes of secret glances, that the girl had questions and wouldn't ask them herself not wanting to seem rude or nosy, and that is why she kept shooting him curious glances.

"What is it?" asked Kenshin keeping the irritation out of his voice and bringing his eyes up to meet Kaoru's bright sapphire ones as she sent him another glance.

"W…What?" she stuttered surprised and embarrassed at getting caught staring at him again.

"You want to ask me something," he stated simply refocusing his attention back on the cleaning up the mess that was still apparent all over the room.

Kaoru just gawked at him until she seemed to snap out of her gaze and look down at the carpet in thought.

"Your name is, Himura Kenshin?" she seemed to ask. Kenshin nodded not bothering to look up, knowing that Kaoru was watching him.

"So that makes you Japanese?" she said. Kenshin nodded again.

"You don't look it," she murmured a bit hesitantly not wanting to offend him.

"That's what I've heard," Kenshin shrugged.

"If you don't mind me asking, how old are you?" she asked.

"…20," he murmured remembering that for once he was allowed to use his actual name and age.

"Really! You look really young for your age," said Sano finally bringing himself into the conversation.

"That's what I've heard," muttered Kenshin again.

"Well… I'm 19," said Sano thinking that it was only fair to give the quiet man some information about himself.

"And I'm 17," responded Kaoru suddenly full of energy.

"So Kenshin…where did you come from?" asked Kaoru trying to get an actual conversation going.

"…Well, at your age, I figured you would know," said Kenshin with a slight smirk, not being able to resist.

Kaoru's eyes furrowed in confusion for a second before her cheeks were tinted with a bright red blush. Sano burst out laughing. "That was a good one!" he laughed slapping Kenshin on the back.

"Sano…" growled Kaoru in embarrassment causing Sano to laugh harder at the look on her face.

Kaoru brought her fist down on Sano's unsuspecting head as he continued to laugh at her expense.

"Ow! What'd you do that for? You're the one that asked the question and he's the one that answered. I didn't do anything!" said Sano cradling his head in his arms.

"Yeah well, you deserved it," grumbled Kaoru. "And that's not what I meant."

"Japan."

"Huh?" Kaoru said snapping her head up.

"I just moved here from Japan," Kenshin clarified.

"You mean you just came from the airport?"

"Hai," he replied.

"Really? Sano and I are also from Japan. We just moved here about two years ago," said Kaoru.

"What brings you all the way to UCLA from Japan?" asked Sano.

"My…Uncle wanted me to get an education in America," replied Kenshin remembering his cover story.

"What are you majoring in?" asked Kaoru.

Kenshin shrugged.

"You don't know?" said Kaoru in confusion.

"My uncle arranged everything for me," he replied with a shrug. "All he told me was that I had to go to some office and pickup a schedule and my books tomorrow."

"Oh…and you don't care?"

"I don't have much of a choice really." Kenshin merely shrugged again. "He has high expectations of me," Kenshin added to build up the image he was supposed to have while he stayed there.

A silence fell as the three continued to clean, each in their own thoughts. After about an hour and a half of cleaning up and talking and arguing from Kaoru and Sano, they were finished. Kaoru flopped down on the couch beside Sano tiredly. "I'm tired. I think I'll get my books from my car and head to my dorm. Care to help me Sano?" she sighed.

"Ehh…I'm beat. You're a strong girl, do you really need my help to carry a couple books?" complained Sano.

"But Sanoooo," whined Kaoru. "I have to carry my books and other supplies up _four _flights of stairs."

"But…" began Sano.

"I'll help," Kenshin interrupted before more whining and arguing could ensue to worsen the beginnings of a migraine.

Kaoru smiled widely. "At least _some _guys can be chivalrous, unlike someone I know. Let's go Kenshin," she said looping her arm through Kenshin's arm and pulling him through the door.

"Yeah, yeah whatever. You know I love you Kaoru," he said waving his arm at the two to leave him to his …lying down in peace.

Kenshin allowed Kaoru to pull him towards the staircase where she let of his arm and began descending the stairs.

"Thanks for helping me Kenshin. I swear, that rooster-head is so lazy," said Kaoru as Kenshin followed from behind.

"No problem," murmured Kenshin. They continued down quickly in silence until they reached the parking lot filled with cars of college students.

"My car is the blue Honda Civic," said Kaoru pulling her keys out of her pockets.

Kenshin scanned the parking lot and spotted a sapphire blue Honda Civic that matched perfectly with Kaoru's eyes. It was a common car for a college student.

"I'll open the trunk," said Kaoru as she opened her front door. Kenshin rounded to the trunk and as he got there, it popped open. He pulled up the lid and saw a couple bags of what looked like notebooks and binders and a stack of books in the corner. As Kaoru came around with a stack of papers in hand, Kenshin grabbed the heavy stack of books and stepped back. Kaoru pulled the bags of supplies out and set them on the floor. She shut the trunk and locked it with her key. She then turned to Kenshin.

"Here, let me carry some of those books," said Kaoru reaching out to grab them.

"I got it," said Kenshin. "You carry those bags."

"But, those are heavy and you're supposed to be helping me, not the other way around," she said.

"You would make Sano carry all of the books wouldn't you?" Kenshin said.

"Well, yeah but that's different. I…"

"I may be smaller than him, but that doesn't mean I'm weaker," he replied turning towards the building.

"Yeah, but…hey wait up!" she said quickly grabbing the bags and jogging to catch up. They entered the building and began climbing the stairs.

Kaoru sighed. "Stupid elevator had to break down," she grumbled as they climbed up step after step.

Finally, they reached the fourth floor and began walking down the hall.

As they passed Kenshin's dorm and stopped at the door next to it, something that Kenshin hadn't said in a long time slipped out.

"Oro," muttered Kenshin in surprise causing Kaoru to giggle.

"Did you say oro?" she giggled.

"…You live next door?" he said deciding to ignore Kaoru's question.

"Yeah, I guess I never told you huh?" she smiled.

Kenshin nodded as Kaoru turned around and kicked the door with the back of her heel.

A few seconds later, a woman opened the door with a look of irritation on her face.

She was pretty tall, at least taller than Kenshin and Kaoru. The woman had long black hair that came down passed her shoulder blades and sharp brown eyes. She was wearing a simple red tank top and jeans.

"Did you forget your keys again Tanuki?" she said.

Kaoru glared at her and said, "No! As you can see our hands are a little full."

The woman looked confused when she noticed a boy with red hair behind Kaoru. She stepped aside and Kaoru walked passed her to get in. "Come in," she mumbled to Kenshin. Kenshin followed her in and noticed that the dorm was exactly like Sano's except for the different furniture.

Kaoru placed the bags on the floor and took the books from Kenshin's arms, putting them on the coffee table. She turned around and smiled.

"Kenshin, this is my roommate Megumi Takani. She's a med student. Megumi this is Sano's new roommate Kenshin Himura."

Megumi smiled as she looked at Kenshin from head to toe. "It's nice to meet you Himura-san," she said politely bowing slightly.

Kenshin nodded in acknowledgement. "By the sound of your name, I'm gonna assume that you're Japanese."

Kenshin nodded again and an uncomfortable silence fell across the room.

"Umm…I think I'll go," said Kenshin uncertainly.

"Oh! Yeah, you must be tired. Go kick Sano off the couch and get some rest. I'll see ya tomorrow!" exclaimed Kaoru happily. She opened the door to let Kenshin out as Megumi said a quick farewell.

"Ja ne," said Kenshin as he stepped out and opened the door to his dorm. Upon entering, he noticed that Sano had already placed pillows and blankets on the couch.

Tiredly, Kenshin sprawled out on the couch, not bothering to change. He closed his eyes and reflected on the people he had met. He was glad that he was able to room with a Japanese. It made him feel somewhat closer to home. The people seemed pretty nice as well. Though Sano was an easy-going and carefree guy, Kenshin kept a mental note to stay on his good side. Sanosuke Sagara was strong, probably not strong enough to pose too big a threat to him, but nonetheless strong and very protective of his friends from what he could sense from him.

Kaoru seemed like the cheerful, happy-go-lucky type of girl. She also had an aura of confidence and strength that girls rarely had. She must have had some type of self-defense lessons before. She had a quick temper and her eyes revealed her every feeling which made her the easiest to read of the three.

Now Megumi was a bit different. From his brief meeting with Megumi, he was able to gather that she was a witty and sharp woman. Not much of a fighter like the other two, but the calculating look in her eyes revealed her to be an intelligent and cunning person.

Kenshin was exhausted. During the plane ride here, he was barely able to get any sleep due to being seated between two very …husky people. The two men were big and took up the entire arm rests. They continually talked to each other and when they finally fell asleep, Kenshin was wide awake trying to keep them from leaning onto him in their sleep. Finally, after a horrendously long plane trip and a long day finding his dorm and moving in, Kenshin was able to drift off into a dreamless sleep.

> > > > > > > > > >

Kaoru watched as Kenshin entered his dorm room before closing her door and turning back to Megumi. She had a knowing look on her face and a smirk on her lips.

Kaoru eyed her nervously. "What?"

"You like him," she said simply.

"What! I don't even know him!" Kaoru cried out.

"Admit it Tanuki. You like him. I saw that look on your face."

"I don't know him," she said stubbornly.

"Come on Kaoru. Even though he has delicate features like a girl, doesn't change the fact that he is hot! And this coming from a girl that already has a boyfriend!" said Megumi.

"Well, yeah he's hot, but for all I know he could be a mass murderer," argued Kaoru.

"Are we talking about the same guy here? He's looks as harmless as a kitten," she said.

"Yeah well, I'm just saying you never know."

"Sure Kaoru, whatever you say," she said heading to her room with a smirk on her face.

"I don't like him!" Kaoru yelled with a slight blush on her cheeks.

"Of course you don't," said Megumi as she closed her bedroom door.

Kaoru sighed. Yeah Kenshin was a nice and polite guy, not to mention incredibly handsome, but that didn't mean that she liked him. For Goodness sake, she just met the man a few hours ago! What Megumi said was ridiculous. Besides, in order to really have a crush on a guy, Kaoru really had to get to know the guy. She wasn't just looking for a hot guy like a lot of girls are. She actually cared about the personality. He had to have morals for one thing. He also had to be caring and understanding.

While Kaoru didn't like Kenshin now, she was going to keep an open mind and get to know Kenshin before judging him.

* * *

AN: Hey I really shouldn't be starting up with another fanfic, but I couldn't help myself. This story will not be my first priority, though I will continue to update when I can. Please let me know what you thought of it! If nobody likes the first few chapters, then I will not continue this story. 


	2. Old friends?

Disclaimer: I don't own Rurouni Kenshin, hence why I am writing fanfic…

>>>>>>>Time/scene/ POV change

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_Last Chapter:_

_"Sure Kaoru, whatever you say," she said heading to her room with a smirk on her face._

_"I don't like him!" Kaoru yelled with a slight blush on her cheeks._

_"Of course you don't," said Megumi as she closed her bedroom door._

_Kaoru sighed. Yeah Kenshin was a nice and polite guy, not to mention incredibly handsome, but that didn't mean that she liked him. For Goodness sake, she just met the man a few hours ago! What Megumi said was ridiculous. Besides, in order to really have a crush on a guy, Kaoru really had to get to know the guy. She wasn't just looking for a hot guy like a lot of girls are. She actually cared about the personality. He had to have morals for one thing. He also had to be caring and understanding._

_While Kaoru didn't like Kenshin now, she was going to keep an open mind and get to know Kenshin before judging him.

* * *

_

Chapter 2:

"So your roommate didn't want to go?" asked Megumi as she got into the driver's seat of the black Toyota Camry. Sano pulled his seatbelt on in the passenger seat and shrugged his shoulders.

"You didn't ask him?" asked Kaoru from the back seat.

"He wasn't there," said Sano simply as Megumi started the engine.

"He wasn't there? But it's not even 8:30 yet. Shouldn't he still be tired from jetlag?" said Megumi.

"Yeah…but he left like really early. Like 3 AM early," said Sano staring out of the window.

"3AM! Why?" exclaimed Kaoru in surprise.

"Dunno. All I know is that the phone rang at 3 and soon after Kenshin left grumbling something about, 'stupid inconsiderate uncles calling at 3 in the morning.'"

Silence fell upon the people in the car until suddenly, Megumi said, "You actually woke up from the phone!"

"Hehe…actually, I woke up to get a midnight snack," said Sano sheepishly rubbing the back of his head.

"Figures it had something to do with your stomach," sighed Kaoru.

Kaoru turned out of the window and squinted slightly as she saw a patch of red hair on the sidewalk.

"Hey is that him?" mumbled Kaoru trying to get a better look as a car blocked her vision.

"Who?" asked Sano scanning the side walk.

"Kenshin," said Kaoru still trying to look.

"Hey yeah it is! Stop the car!" exclaimed Sano. Megumi drove her car into the gas station that Kenshin was skateboarding through. He was wearing a black t-shirt that had a dagger running down his right sleeve. His blue jean shorts had chains hanging out of his pocket that went up to his belt loop and he had on black Vans on his feet. On his back was a black backpack.

"Oi! Kenshin over here!" yelled Sano out the window from the spot where Megumi parked.

>>>>>>>

Kenshin turned when he heard his name called and upon seeing his roommate's head sticking out of a car window, skated over to him.

"Hey," he said coming to a stop and kicking his board into his hands.

"Morning Kenshin!" said Kaoru opening her window.

"Hey," he said again.

"Where you headed?" asked Sano with his head still slightly out the window.

"The dorm," said Kenshin.

"You had breakfast yet?"

"No."

"Then hop in and join us," said Sano with a grin.

"Uhh…no thanks," said Kenshin uncertainly. He was exhausted and really wanted to get home and sleep.

"Come on, it'll be fun," said Kaoru pushing her door open and sliding to the other side.

Kenshin hesitated at the door, saying that he wasn't really hungry, though his stomach told him otherwise. Yeah he was hungry, but he was even more tired and he really didn't want to get to close to these people, though it looks like they are going to be insistent on his friendship. He may not have much of a chose, he realized.

"Nonsense! Of course you're hungry!" cried out Sano happily pushing him into the car from the window. "Besides, it's supposed to be a party thingy and we told our friends that we were going to bring you over to meet them."

Kenshin sighed and pulled the door closed after setting his skateboard on the floor. He pulled his backpack off and held it in his lap. "Hello Megumi-san," Kenshin greeted politely at seeing the pre-med student start the car.

"Good Morning Ken-san," she replied smiliing at him in the rearview mirror.

Megumi expertly maneuvered the car into the crowded road and concentrated on the streets in front of her.

"…So…what's this party for?" asked Kenshin curiously.

"Well actually there isn't really a big reason. We've all been really busy for the past few weeks and our friend's grandfather decided to close their restaurant/nightclub this morning so that we can have our own little party thing," said Kaoru.

"I guess you can say that it's just a day for us to spend the day with friends," said Megumi from the front.

"Yeah, these party things are always a lot of fun. We go in for breakfast, hang out for the rest of the day, and then they open up their nightclub and we dance all night. Best of all, its all free for us!" cried out Sanosuke causing the girls to sweat drop.

"Was there something that you had to do today? Because these parties usually last all day," said Kaoru looking at him with her clear sapphire eyes.

"Well…I still have to go to some office and get my schedule and books," said Kenshin.

"Don't worry about that," said Megumi with her eyes still on the road in front of her. "Things will settle down after breakfast and then one of us will take you to the school office. It's not that far."

"…Oh…ok thanks," said Kenshin. He was planning on using that as an excuse to leave and get some sleep at his dorm, but now that was no longer an option. Kenshin sighed inwardly. He was now stuck with these people for an entire day. Not that he minded much. Spending the day relaxing at a party was much better then being out on one of those accursed assignments. Besides his other errands could wait till tomorrow.

He might as well enjoy the peace while it lasts, because he knew that it wouldn't last for long. It never lasted long. They promised him that they would give him a break to get settled in the US and possibly have a taste of being a normal college student, but he knew that he was no normal college student.

Kenshin turned his attention to the backpack in his lap as Kaoru and Sano began talking excitedly about the upcoming activities there friends' had planned. He blocked out their voices and slowly unzipped the small compartment on the front of his backpack. He pulled out a new slick cell phone. He flipped it opened and found that _their_ numbers were already programmed into it, as well as his two uncles' numbers. Kenshin snapped the phone shut and stuffed it into his pocket.

He pushed his hand into the backpack again and this time pulled out a wallet. He briefly glanced at Kaoru and after seeing that she was still occupied with Sano proceeded to open it. Inside it, Kenshin saw a card with his picture and personal information. 'Figures they already got me a driver's license after only one day in America,' thought Kenshin as he pulled open the little pockets revealing a credit card as well as a huge wad of cash. He then closed the wallet and slipped it into his back pocket just as the car came to a stop. Kenshin quickly zipped up his backpack and got out of the car, pulling his skateboard and backpack with him.

Kenshin looked up to see a big, seemingly two story building with the word "Aoiya" across the top.

"Come on Kenshin," called out Kaoru after noticing that Kenshin wasn't following them.

Kenshin nodded and followed them to the front door. He was getting a weird feeling about the place. It wasn't a bad feeling, but …kind of unsettling. Upon opening the door, Kenshin brushed his feelings aside and stood, emotionless, beside Sano as a woman greeted them cheerfully and excused herself to get the others.

"Kaoru-chan! Megumi-chan!" squealed out a girl's voice suddenly.

"Misao-chan!" cried out Kaoru as the girls rushed at each other and hugged each other cheerfully. Kenshin stiffened at hearing the name and Sano put his hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry about them," he chuckled misinterpreting his sudden stiffness for being surprised by the over-energized girls. "They're just extremely crazy when they haven't seen each other in a long time."

Kenshin scrutinized the girl, but didn't want to jump to conclusions. She may look like _her_, but that doesn't mean that she is her. Of course having the same name and uncanny resemblance did cause Kenshin to narrow his eyes in suspicion. And the fact that it has been several years since he last saw her made the possibility of this young woman being the same young girl that he remembered, to be more likely.

Suddenly, Kenshin felt 2 very familiar ki's coming from the left and his eyes widened at what he saw. An elderly man with a pointy beard walked over with a tall young man with icy blue eyes. The moment that the two men saw Kenshin, they froze in mid step.

The girls, who up until now had been noisily catching up on events over the past few weeks, became silent at noticing Kenshin and the other two men staring at each other with widened eyes. An awkward silence fell upon the people in the restaurant as the girls and Sano stared at Kenshin and the other two.

"Aoshi?" Kenshin finally managed to say weakly. "Okina?" Could it really be them?

"Kenshin," whispered the young man with a slight look of relief on his face.

Kenshin glanced at the girls and saw that Misao's eyes were widened at finally noticing and realizing who he was. Kaoru, Sano, and Megumi looked at the group in confusion.

"…How have you been?" asked Okina finally breaking the silence that had again fallen over the group.

A pained look entered Kenshin's eyes before he looked down, allowing his bangs to cover them. "I…I've been fine. How have you been?" he said looking back up with the emotionless mask in place.

"We've been great…happy," he said looking thoughtfully at Misao and Aoshi.

Suddenly, the woman from earlier popped in saying that the table was ready causing the group to jump at the sudden cheerful outburst. Okina shook off the thoughtful look and a huge grin slid across his face.

"Well, what are we waiting for! The food's waiting!" he cried out ushering the girls into the room as if everything was back to normal. "I would hurry Sano before Kaoru and Misao eat all of the _free_ food," said Okina at seeing the look of confusion on Sano's face as he watched Aoshi and Kenshin look at each other. Okina's comment immediately made Sano dash into the other room forgetting that he was confused in the first place.

Okina made to follow them, but then stopped just before he reached the door. "I'll save you two some food… It's nice to finally see you again Himura-kun," he said before entering the other room and closing the door behind him.

Kenshin and Aoshi just stood where they were staring at each other for a few seconds before Kenshin broke it again.

"She's grown up," he said quietly glancing at the door that the others had gone into.

"Aa."

"It's been …3 years I think since…"

"Yeah," he interrupted before Kenshin could finish.

Aoshi moved to a table on the right and motioned Kenshin to join him. Kenshin followed and took a seat across from his old friend. He set his backpack and skateboard down and then leaned on his arms on the table. Kenshin sighed as he saw Aoshi get settled in front of him. Things were going to get a lot more complicated.

* * *

AN: Sorry for the long update. I've been really stressed lately and writing hasn't been on my top things to do list…anyway…please tell me what you think! Ohh and guess how Aoshi and Kenshin know each other..haha... ok anyway... Please review! 


	3. Malls and Things

Disclaimer: I don't own Rurouni Kenshin, hence why I am writing fanfic…

>>>>>>>>>>>Time/scene/ POV change

* * *

_Last Chapter:_

"_She's grown up," he said quietly glancing at the door that the others had gone into._

"_Aa." _

"_It's been …3 years I think since…" _

"_Yeah," he interrupted before Kenshin could finish._

_Aoshi moved to a table on the right and motioned Kenshin to join him. Kenshin followed and took a seat across from his old friend. He set his backpack and skateboard down and then leaned on his hands on the table. Kenshin sighed as he saw Aoshi get settled in front of him. Things were going to get a lot more complicated.

* * *

_

Chapter 3:

Silence fell between the old friends as the two seemed lost in their own thoughts. Kenshin had wondered if he would ever see his Oniwaban friends again, but after they were sent away, he all but gave up hope. He knew they were alive. "They" had promised that they would be spared.

"…Thank you," said Aoshi suddenly causing Kenshin's head to snap up in surprise.

"…For what?" he mumbled back.

"You know what I'm talking about," said Aoshi. "For setting us free…I didn't have a chance to thank you before."

"I …There is no need to thank me," said Kenshin slowly. "It was my fault you were in that situation in the first place."

"Nonetheless, if it wasn't for you, we wouldn't be where we are now. And for that I…we are indebted to you."

"You owe me nothing," said Kenshin grimly looking into the emotionless eyes of his friend.

"Are you on an assignment?" asked Aoshi.

"Well…Uncle said that I should have a few weeks off before I start work…but I doubt it'll last that long."

"Sou ka," he mumbled looking down.

Silence fell again between the two as they seemed to see each other in a different time. Suddenly a slight smirk appeared on Aoshi's lips and amusement, that nobody but his closest friends would have noticed, seemed to dance in his eyes.

Aoshi's brow raised and Kenshin blinked at the rare show of emotions from his friend.

"You look horrible," said Aoshi.

Kenshin blinked at the comment and the first grin in a long time broke out on his face.

"Heck you'd be tired too after a 13 hour flight and being up half the night," said Kenshin with an amused look.

"Up half the night?"

"My stupid Uncle called and demanded that I pick this stuff up," said Kenshin lightly nudging the backpack and skateboard with his feet, "at 3 in the morning!"

"Which uncle?" asked Aoshi with a slightly surprised look on his face.

"Do you really have to ask?" said Kenshin raising an annoyed eyebrow. "The only Uncle that would call, _knowing_ that it was 3AM over here, just to annoy me."

"Good point. Stupid question," said Aoshi with a small smile on his face.

If anyone they knew had walked in on them at that moment, they would have been surprised to see small, yet happy and relieved smiles on the faces of the two, usually emotionless youths. In Japan, many of the older men working with them were always somewhat intimidated by the cold and apathetic looks on their faces. They never seemed to have any feelings or emotions at all and that caused even more rumors of them being demons to be spread around the stations. Despite what their coworkers saw, the two teenagers knew each other better than that. When no one was around, the two would act almost like normal teenagers, at least as normal as they could get with their constant burdens and guilt.

The two have known each other since they were children and knew each other before their jobs were forcefully thrust upon their shoulders at the age of 14. Back then, they were just normal, innocent children, barely starting high school, but suddenly thrown into a mess of government and political issues that children their age should never have known about. One because of debt, as well as family business, the other because of his amazing skill and relations in the police force. They were lucky to have the other there to pull them from the madness and darkness that came with their assignments. They were always there for each other, as best friends, and as brothers even.

"I really am happy to see you again Aoshi," said Kenshin with wistful look on his face.

"Likewise," he murmured.

"Does Misao know…" Kenshin trailed off.

"She knows enough. She knows that we were forced into the government's service because of debt, she knows that we served as ninja…and enough to be thankful to you…" said Aoshi with his emotionless mask back in place.

"So she doesn't know... exactly what we did…right?" asked Kenshin.

"No," replied Aoshi. "She doesn't need to know that."

Kenshin nodded in agreement thinking about the innocent young girl that used to follow Aoshi and him around. Suddenly, there was a loud _thump _followed by a muffled shushing coming from the door they had gone through. Kenshin, surprised that he had actually let his guard down for so long, immediately extended his ki. He sensed 4 people by the door, obviously trying to listen in on what the two were talking about.

A small smile flitted across Kenshin's face. "I see she still likes to eavesdrop on us," said Kenshin quietly, amusement in his voice.

Aoshi and Kenshin got to their feet and silently made their way to the door. They stood, one on each side and smirked as Kenshin suddenly pulled the door open. Four bodies came tumbling through in a mass of tangled limbs.

"Get off of me Rooster head!" yelled Misao.

"Jou-chan's leg is kinda on top of me!" he yelled back.

"Well, if you would get off of my arm!" she yelled.

"Eavesdropping is very rude Misao," said Aoshi over all of the commotion, placing an uncaring and distant look on his face. Kenshin smirked even more at the slight amusement dancing in Aoshi's eyes.

Misao gasped and immediately pulled herself from underneath Sano and into a kneeling position.

"I'm sorry Aoshi-sama! It's just that…I …I mean…It's been," she stuttered, face flushed at being caught.

Kenshin raised an eyebrow. _Apparently she still adores Aoshi_. Things haven't changed all that much since the last time he saw them.

"Told ya you'd be caught," said Okina calmly while drinking his tea.

"No you didn't! You wanted to know what they were talking about just as much as we did! You just made us do the dirty work!" she growled out.

"I didn't make you do anything," he said with a serious look on his face. "I was just smart enough to stay back!" he cried standing up and laughing with his hands on his waist.

Kenshin sweat dropped as Misao began strangling her grandpa and Kaoru grabbed a tray and proceeded to bang it against his head. _They're scary!_

Sano, meanwhile, snuck back to the table and began grabbing the food off of the girls' plates until Megumi slapped his hands away and glared at him.

Kenshin and Aoshi sighed simultaneously and took their seats at the table across from the bickering Megumi and Sano. They picked up their chopsticks and began to eat from their plates. Finally noticing that the two men had begun eating, Misao and Kaoru hurried to their places and began to ravenously eat, first from their plates, then sneaking some from Sano, who was bickering with Megumi as usual.

As they were eating their meal, a cell phone suddenly started to ring causing the group to jump slightly. They looked at each other, not recognizing the ring tone until Kenshin realized that it was his. He quickly stood up and made his way to the corner of the room out of earshot of the rest of the group.

Kaoru looked up in confusion at the somewhat worried look in Aoshi's normally indifferent eyes. They were concentrated on the red-haired boy who was talking on his cell phone with a grim look. Things were just turning out too weird today. First Sano's new roommate leaves in the middle of the night. Then they find out that he and Aoshi apparently know each other pretty well. And now, Aoshi is actually showing emotions.

Kaoru shifted her attention back to Aoshi who was sitting right in front of her. "How'd you guys meet?" she asked quietly.

The young man took his icy blue eyes off of his friend and looked at the curious girl in front of him.

"Same elementary school," he said.

"Oh," she said. "You've known each other for that long? How come we never saw him when we came over to your inn?"

"We normally hung out at the skate park," shrugged Aoshi.

"He's the shy type isn't he?" observed Kaoru glancing at the red head nodding against his phone.

"Not shy," answered Misao when she heard what her Aoshi-sama and best friend were talking about. "…just quiet. Actually, when you get to know him, he's a really cool guy, huh Aoshi-sama."

>>>>>>>

"Hello?"

"How's America?"

"Fine."

"Did you pick everything up yet?"

"Not yet Uncle."

"...How about your books?"

"Not yet."

"I see. Well, you should pick up your car soon because the people aren't going to hold on to it for you for too long. 'Too many buyers' they said. Address is in your bag."

"Okay."

"...I'll try to get you more off time, but meanwhile, relax and enjoy the time that you have Kenshin."

"Hai."

"You know how to contact me and your Uncle Hiko?"

"Hai."

A click as both lines went dead. Kenshin made his way to the group getting up from the table as they finished up their meal. As Kenshin arrived, Aoshi raised an eyebrow and Kenshin silently mouthed 'Uncle' to him. Aoshi nodded and turned his attention back to the others who were deciding what to do for the rest of the day.

"Let's go to the beach!" exclaimed Misao.

"How bout the mall?" suggested Megumi.

"Ohhh the mall sounds good! I needed to get some stuff anyway!" cried out Misao. "What do you guys think?"

"Sure," said Sano with a shrug.

"Fine with me," replied Aoshi.

"How about you Ken?" asked Sano when Kenshin didn't reply.

"You mind if I meet you there later? I gotta pick some stuff up first," he said.

"You want some company? We can drop by to where ever it is your going," said Sano.

"Naw it's alright."

"You don't have a car," pointed out Megumi.

"Got a skateboard," shrugged Kenshin carelessly as he headed towards the door with backpack in hand.

"Wait Kenshin! You don't know how to get around," said Kaoru.

"I'll manage," he said. "Got a cell phone number I can call to find you guys?"

"Oh yeah," said Misao as she grabbed a notepad and scribbled down a number, before handing him a slip of paper.

"Kay thanks. See ya there," Kenshin said over his shoulder, making his way out the door.

>>>>>

Kenshin's 'errands' had taken several hours, a lot longer then he had thought considering he didn't know how to get around LA, and the time being close to dinner time, he wanted nothing more than to go home and curl up on the sofa to sleep. Unfortunately, he had promised that he would meet the others at the mall and had made it a point not to break promises if he could help it. If there was anything that he had learned from his uncle, it's that promises weren't made to be broken and if you couldn't keep it, then don't make it in the first place. And so it was with a tired sigh that Kenshin unceremoniously threw his skateboard and books into his new black Nissan 180SX. He had distinctly asked his uncle to give him a sports car that could handle his …needs.

Kenshin pushed his keys into the ignition and revved his engine loudly. He slowly pulled his car out into the street, and started his way towards the direction that the car dealer had pointed out was the mall. The trip was a short one and in no time at all, he found the huge building that was the mall and after finding a parking spot, quickly made his way into the department store in front of him.

It took him around 15 minutes of walking around aimlessly to find them. It was out of sheer luck that he had found them seeing as he had decided not to call and ask where they were. Instead, he settled on walking around on his own, taking in the sights of the stores and their products until he found a familiar face and if that didn't happen he would have called them eventually.

>>>>>>>>

Kaoru waved at the departing Aoshi and Misao as she, Sano, and Megumi stood in front of the clothing store they had just exited. Because of their jobs at the Aoiya, they had to leave earlier in order to get ready to open the nightclub. Kaoru and the group would be meeting them there later on in the night.

"Come on Rooster," said Megumi as she began to pull Sanosuke towards a store full of jewelry.

"You comin Jou-chan?" asked Sano as Kaoru seemed to stand there lost in thought.

"Huh? Oh yeah," she said following the couple in front of her. As the two entered the store full of expensive baubles, Kaoru informed them that she would be staying outside, beginning to feel like a third wheel, and sat down on a bench facing the windows displaying shiny diamonds.

>>>>>

Kenshin didn't knew whether he wanted to punch these guys or…well to punch these guys. They were eyeing Kaoru with lustful eyes and speaking as if women in general were just objects made to satisfy their needs. Just the way that they spoke, caused Kenshin's blood to boil, and seeing as they were not only eyeing, but slowly approaching a girl, and not just any girl, but a girl he knew, Kaoru to be specific, only added fuel to the fire. Yeah he didn't know Kaoru that well, but from what he's seen from her these past two days, he's come to the conclusion that she was an innocent and sweet girl, if not a little violent at times, and he wasn't about to let some jerks take advantage of any girl, let alone one he knew personally.

"Hey there miss," said the first man.

Kaoru turned her head towards the deep voice that addressed her and eyed him warily. "Uhh…Hi."

"Has anyone ever told you that you are very pretty?" said the second muscular man.

"Umm…Thanks," said Kaoru tentatively.

"We were about to head over to a great club," said the first man, "Why don't you come and show us a good time?" he grinned grabbing her arm.

"No thanks," Kaoru said firmly, struggling to remove his hands from her. "Please let me go."

"Aww come on," whined the second man with a lustful grin on his face. "It'll be fun."

"She said no," said Kenshin suddenly stepping in between Kaoru and the much larger men.

"Move it boy," said the first man in a condescending manner. "We didn't ask you."

"Well, if I heard correctly, she already declined your offer," said Kenshin gently grabbing Kaoru's arm and pushing her towards the jewelry store that Megumi and Sano had entered.

"Hey! Get your own whore _Boy!_ We found her first!" yelled the first man grabbing Kenshin's shoulder.

Kenshin looked down at the hand on his shoulder, and slowly turned his head to glare at the man, eyes dangerously glinting amber. "She is not a whore, and I suggest you remove your hand."

"Or else you'll what?" laughed the brawny man. "Beat me up?"

"Let's go," said Kaoru worriedly pulling on Kenshin who looked about ready to jump on the two men twice his size.

"Oi! We aren't done talking to you yet!" yelled the 1st man reaching around Kenshin to grab Kaoru.

Kenshin grabbed his hand in a vice-like grip, causing the man to wince in pain.

"Yes you are," he said threateningly.

"No we aren't," said the second man about to charge at Kenshin.

"Hey there guys! What's going on?" Sano exclaimed suddenly standing menacingly with an arm around Kaoru's shoulders, and behind Kenshin.

"Who are you?" said the first man, wincing, his hand still crushed in the small redhead's grip.

"Doesn't matter," shrugged Sano. "I hope you weren't picking on my Jou-chan here. Cuz if you were then I might have to teach you a lesson," said Sano cracking his knuckles.

Slightly intimidated by the tall man and his strong little friend, the man pulled his hand away from Kenshin, who let him go willingly, and left with his friend, all the while grumbling about assholes spoiling their fun.

"Sano!" smiled Kaoru in relief. "Is Megumi done?"

"Yeah I'm done," answered Megumi emerging from the store. "Oh, hi Ken-san. When'd you get here?"

"Just now," answered Kenshin.

"Alright, let's go Tanuki," she said looping her arm through Kaoru's and chattering with her, unaware of the events that took place moments before, as they made their way towards their next destination, wherever that was.

"Hey Kenshin," said Sano as they followed the girls through the mall. "Thanks for looking out for Jou-chan."

"It was nothing," shrugged Kenshin.

"I like you!" exclaimed Sano as he casually threw his arm over Kenshin's shoulders and leaned on the shorter man. "You're a nice guy, not to mention a modest one."

Kenshin merely shrugged as they stopped in front of the Sears Department store.

"Ken, you like video games right?"

"Yeah, sure."

"Great," said Sano as the girls were about to enter Sears. "Oi! Tanuki, Kitsune!"

The girls turned around with disapproving scowls on their faces at being called animals.

"We're heading to the arcade. Meet us there when you're ready to go," he said with a grin on his face.

"Yeah, yeah, as long as you've got money to pay for it," waved Megumi as she turned her back on them, mumbling to Kaoru what suspiciously sounded like, "boys and their videogames."

Sano merely shrugged and lead Kenshin to a big arcade filled with teenagers and college students, mostly boys, but containing several girls as well. They spent about an hour playing games, and to Sano's dismay, losing to his new roommate as the latter smirked in victory before the girls arrived happily holding several bags of purchases.

When the girls arrived, they were slightly surprised to found a small crowd gathered around the Dance Dance Revolution game with looks of awe on their faces. Just as the girls were about to push their way through, the crowd burst into light applause and dispersed off to continue their own games, leaving a sweating Sano leaning against the rail in front of a smirking Kenshin.

"I can't believe you beat me in this game too!" he whined. "That was crazy fast!"

"Did I just hear that someone actually beat Sano at DDR?" said Kaoru in shock.

"Wow, congrats Ken-san, we have never met anybody that has actually _beat _Sanosuke at this game before," said Megumi. "This dufus has gotten such a big head that he even started calling himself the DDR King."

Sano straightened up with a slight scowl on his face. "Yeah, yeah, yeah, no need to rub it in Megitsune. How'd you do that anyway Kenshin?"

"Guess I'm just quick on my feet," Kenshin shrugged. "Anyway, where are we going now?"

"Well, it's just about 6 o clock. We should probably head over to the Aoiya. They should be opening right about now," said Megumi.

The group then headed over to the parking lot and lucky for them, they had parked in the same parking area.

"Where are you going Kenshin? Megumi's car is this way," said Kaoru as Kenshin began to walk in the opposite direction.

"My car's over there," he said simply.

"You have a car already?" exclaimed Sano with widened eyes.

"Hai," said Kenshin without elaborating.

"But how?" said Kaoru.

"…a Car dealer," said Kenshin without elaborating. "And I need to go to the dorm to drop off some things first."

"You want someone to keep you company?" asked Megumi.

"Don't matter," said Kenshin not really caring whether he drove alone or not.

"Well, I need to talk to Sano about something. So Kaoru will go with you," she said with a knowing smirk. "We'll see you there."

Kaoru glared at the backs of Megumi and Sano. She didn't _like_ Kenshin in that way! They barely even knew each other! Megumi was just trying to set them up, and it was seriously beginning to get on her nerves. All throughout the mall trip, she had been constantly teasing her about the red head and that caused Misao to start up too. She's treated Kenshin the exact way she treated all of her other male acquaintances, and had no idea how they came to the conclusion that she had a crush on Kenshin.

"Um…Kaoru," said Kenshin hesitantly as he saw the death glare that was being sent at their two roommates. This girl could definitely be scary when she wanted to be. "You don't have to go with me if you don't want to…"

"Huh?" said Kaoru as she snapped out of her annoyed thoughts. "Oh, no its not that. I don't mind coming with you. Which car's yours?"

"Black one on the left," said Kenshin as he led the way towards the Nissan.

"That's your car!" said Kaoru. "Wow, you've got great taste!"

"…Thanks," said Kenshin as he pulled the door open. The two got into the car and buckled up before Kenshin shoved his keys into the ignition. He decided that this would be the perfect time to test out his car's limits since the ride to the dorm would be a pretty long one. He loudly revved his engine and stepped on the gas pedal with so much force that Kaoru clutched onto the seat in nervousness. Kenshin grinned in satisfaction as he sped through the streets, expertly weaving through the cars, accelerating way over the speed limit. He skillfully changed the gears, seemingly unaware of the terrified teenager sitting beside him, and rolled down the window as they sped even faster through the crowded streets of LA. Kaoru began to yell at Kenshin to slow down or to stop so that she could drive, but Kenshin merely ignored her. He was determined to enjoy this despite the near hysterial girl sitting in the passenger seat.

>>>>>

_He's a maniac! _

Kaoru was so sure that she was going to die that she was thoroughly surprised when they arrived in the dorm's parking lot in one piece. As Kenshin got out of the car, Kaoru sat in her seat for several minutes trying to steady her beating heart before she allowed herself to walk on solid ground.

Kaoru stepped out and walked to the trunk, a bit unsteadily, where Kenshin was pulling out several odd-shaped packages, as well as his backpack and skateboard.

"You… You're a crazy maniac, you know that!" cried out Kaoru.

Kenshin smirked. "What are you talking about? That was fun."

"Fun? We could've died! Do you even have a license yet?"

"Don't worry," Kenshin sighed dramatically as he began to gently push Kaoru towards the dorm building. "You won't die and yes I have a license."

"You're so reassuring you know that?" muttered Kaoru sarcastically, taking the backpack and skateboard from his hands.

* * *

AN: Here's the next chapter. I know it took me forever to update. And I'm sorry, but I found that working on three stories isn't easy, and I suddenly found myself obsessed with the bakumatsu for a while…hehe…I actually started to write another story.

I have like maybe three chapters written, but I'm not sure whether I want to post it yet or not. Here's a summary that I just came up with right now. Let me know if you think I should post it, and if you have any suggestions for a title.

The Bakumatsu, a turbulent time filled with so much pain and sorrow. In the midst of it, there is a young boy named Kenshin, barely 14, learning to deal with the difficult job given to him. All the men avoid him in fear of the Demon of Kyoto, except one other boy that understands how this 14 year old feels because he too is a hitokiri. Will this boy be able to help Kenshin get through the darkness, or will he go mad along with the boy he so desperately wants to help?

Remember to review!


	4. Drunken Girl

Disclaimer: I don't own Rurouni Kenshin, hence why I am writing fanfic…

Time/scene/ POV change

_Thoughts_

* * *

_Last Chapter:_

_He's a maniac! _

_Kaoru was so sure that she was going to die that she was thoroughly surprised when they arrived in the dorm's parking lot in one piece. As Kenshin got out of the car, Kaoru sat in her seat for several minutes trying to steady her beating heart before she allowed herself to walk on solid ground._

_Kaoru stepped out and walked to the trunk, a bit unsteadily, where Kenshin was pulling out several packages, as well as his backpack and skateboard._

"_You… You're a crazy maniac, you know that!" cried out Kaoru. _

_Kenshin smirked. "What are you talking about? That was fun."_

"_Fun? We could've died! Do you even have a license yet?" _

"_Don't worry," smirked Kenshin as he began to gently push Kaoru towards the dorm building with his hands filled. "You won't die and I have a license."_

"_You're so reassuring you know that?" muttered Kaoru sarcastically, taking the backpack and skateboard from his hands.

* * *

_

Chapter 4:

Kenshin smirked in amusement at his cup of sake as the image of a terrified Kaoru appeared in his mind. She had practically begged him to allow her to drive them to the Aoiya, but of course Kenshin refused, promising that he would drive at a reasonable speed this time. And he did. He barely even went over the speed limit and yet Kenshin could still feel relief radiating from the teenager as they stepped out of the car and into the bustling basement of the Aoiya that was the nightclub.

She had immediately joined Misao, Megumi, and Sano at the dance floor while Kenshin made his way over to the bar on the opposite side of the large room. Looking at a menu, Kenshin was slightly surprised to find the Japanese beverages among many types of beers, margueritas, and other alcohol based drinks as well as sodas. Kenshin quickly downed his cup of sake before adding more from the bottle sitting beside him.

"I heard you scared Kaoru with your insane driving," said a cool voice behind him. Kenshin turned somewhat in his chair, though he knew who was behind him, and nodded his head in greeting.

Aoshi took a seat beside Kenshin and casually propped his elbows onto the counter as Kenshin turned his attention back to his sake.

"You should be careful," smirked Aoshi, "the American police aren't as lenient about speeding as the Japanese are. They won't let you go just because you have a faster car. They'll actually attempt to chase you."

"I'll keep that in mind," mumbled Kenshin as he downed another cup and started to refill his cup.

"Didn't know you drank," said Aoshi as a cup of tea was set in front of him by the bartender.

"Always did, just not so much before you left."

An awkward silence fell upon the two as they sipped their drinks. "Sorry," mumbled Aoshi. "…you know for leaving you."

Kenshin looked over at Aoshi in slight surprise. "Don't be. It was my choice. If I was to choose between my life and yours and the oniwaban, I'd happily choose you and the Oniwaban group again. I do not regret my decision."

Aoshi remained silent as Kenshin turned to face forward again. "Don't worry about me Aoshi. I'm fine. Just enjoy your life. God knows you deserve to."

"If I deserve it, then the same could be said about you," Aoshi pointed out.

"Maybe, but you know it doesn't matter," said Kenshin swirling the sake around in the cup.

"I know," Aoshi sighed. "Anyway, I need to get back to work. If you ever need help, call me."

"Yeah, yeah," Kenshin said waving his hand, "I think I can handle it. I've been doing this for how many years?"

"I didn't mean just for your assignments," said Aoshi getting up from his seat not bothering to elaborate.

"Thanks," said Kenshin quietly when he realized what Aoshi had meant.

Aoshi nodded and Kenshin looked over at the dance floor just as a slow song began to replace the booming music from earlier. He watched as two giggling girls left and started to head their way.

"Will I ever get to see you dance with Misao?" smirked Kenshin to the back of his retreating friend. "I'm sure she'd be thrilled to get the chance."

Aoshi turned his head to the side and raised an eyebrow. "Unlike Misao, I actually have to do some work," he said seemingly coldly, but with a smile playing on his lips.

"Sure you do," said Kenshin turning in his place to face the bar again, "Go do your work."

"Yes Himura-san," said Aoshi before leaving with a smirk still visible on his face.

Kenshin smiled, and brought his cup to his lips. Hanging out with Aoshi always helped him forget, if only for a second, that there was hope in the world; Aoshi gave him a sense of calm. That's probably why they ended up best friends. They understood each other and knew how to cheer the other up. The red haired youth let his eyes wander around the dance floor again until they stopped at two girls that were heading towards the bar.

XXXXXX

A slow song began to play and Kaoru smiled at the couples heading out onto the dance floor. She came up to a pouting Megumi and her boyfriend Sanosuke, who had obviously upset her again, and gave the med student a gentle push towards her boyfriend. Megumi gasped and lurched forward to be caught by a grinning Sano.

"Have fun you two," Kaoru teased grabbing Misao's arm and pulling her towards the bar to get some drinks.

The two girls giggled at the ridiculous fights that the couple got into constantly.

"Hey is that Aoshi-sama with Himura?" exclaimed Misao excitedly.

"Hey I think it is, but it looks like he's leaving," said Kaoru. She turned sympathetic eyes on the shorter girl and awkwardly patted the disappointed girl's back. "Don't worry Misao. I'm sure one of these days, he's going to ask you to dance with him in one of these slow songs. He's just shy that's all."

"Shy my butt!" cried out Misao. "Aoshi-sama is not shy! He's the strong and silent type, but not shy!"

Kaoru laughed. "I guess your right. Come on, I'm thirsty, lets get a drink."

XXXXXXXXX

Kenshin continued to drink as he sensed the two girls approach him.

"Hey Kenshin!" said Kaoru cheerfully from behind him.

"Hey," he said, not bothering to turn around.

"What are you doing here all by yourself?" she asked moving to his right.

"Drinking"

"You mind if we join you?" asked Misao.

Kenshin shrugged and the two girls sat down to Kenshin's right. He glanced at the happily chattering girls out of the corner of his eye. The two teenagers were looking at a menu of drinks and trying to decide what to order when a hand suddenly appeared on their shoulders. Misao and Kaoru jumped and turned around in their bar stools to face two grinning men.

"Hey there Misao, Kaoru" said the kinder, boyish looking man on the left.

"Hey Sadako!" cried out Misao happily throwing her arms around the taller man. "I haven't seen you in months! Where have you been?"

"I've been pretty busy lately," he smiled, "you wanna dance?"

"Alright!" she exclaimed happily, "…you don't mind do you Kaoru?"

"No of course not. Go have fun. I'll wait here," she smiled watching as Misao grabbed the boy's arm and excitedly dragged her old friend towards the dance floor.

"Well then," said the other man grabbing Kaoru's attention. Kaoru turned her head from the dance floor to the man grinning at her.

"What do you want Tony?" Kaoru said annoyance clearly visible on her face.

"Don't be like that Kaoru. You know you want to dance with me."

Kaoru scoffed. "Yeah right! I'd never dance with an arrogant, womanizing jerk like you and I don't understand how Sadako can stand being your friend!"

"Hey hey hey," he said with a hurt look on his face. "I'm offended! Dance with me and I'll forgive you."

"I've told you before, NO!" she said angrily. "Now will you please leave me alone!"

"Awww…come on Kaoru," he whined with an innocent grin plastered on his face.

As Kaoru began to growl and looked about ready to pounce on the guy, Kenshin turned in his seat and casually draped his arm over the girl's shoulders.

"Is this guy bothering you Kaoru?" he asked quietly, but loud enough so that obnoxious man could hear. Kaoru looked at Kenshin, confusion and curiosity clearly in her eyes, but Kenshin continued to stare at the other man.

"Whoa Kaoru! I didn't know you went that way!" he exclaimed after giving Kenshin a second's glance.

Kaoru started and turned her confused stare towards Tony. "What the heck are you talking about Tony?" she demanded.

"What do you say to dancing with me instead Miss. I'm sure I'll be able to satisfy you more than this tomboy here," he said looking towards Kenshin's shadowed figure.

_Miss?_

Kaoru blinked repeatedly as she realized that from Tony's place in front of them, Kenshin's shadowed silhouette seemed feminine. Even she had mistook Kenshin as a girl and that was in a well lit stair well. Here in the nightclub, it was very dimly lit and Kenshin's long red hair, slim form, and delicate features would easily be taken as a girl's. Kaoru's anger began to rise, both for being called a lesbian and in annoyance of the womanizing man in front of her, but before she could react, she felt Kenshin's hand tighten slightly on her shoulder before letting her go.

Kenshin slowly stood up from his place on the bar stool and ignoring Kaoru's gaze, he took slow deliberate steps up to the man who had thought he was a she. As Kenshin stepped up about an inch in front of the man's face, stunned surprise sprung into the man's features when he realized his error.

"I'm sorry to disappoint your homosexual feelings," Kenshin said bluntly, "…but I'm not interested in other men. So piss off."

The man stood staring dumbly at Kenshin with his mouth agape.

"Well…what are you waiting for?" whispered Kenshin, eyes narrowed with a threatening gleam in them. "Do you need some help?" When Tony still didn't move because of the intimidating look he was receiving, Kenshin arrogantly grabbed the top the man's head and turned him to face the other direction, giving him a slight push to get him going. Tony stumbled a bit, but walked on only fearfully glancing back once before disappearing into the crowd.

Kenshin sighed and turned around, taking his seat at the bar with an emotionless, uncaring look in his face as Kaoru looked at him. She was worried that he was angry, but his eyes betrayed no emotions. Why should he be angry? It has happened before. If anything, it only annoyed the heck out of him. And it was somewhat his own fault for not cutting his long red hair. His uncle did always tell him that he looked more like a girl than a guy, and frankly, he wasn't about to let those degrading comments get to him.

Kenshin reached over the counter and grabbed an extra cup. He filled it to the brim with sake and then filled his own. He held the new cup of sake in front of Kaoru, who was staring at him.

"Don't worry about it. Drink," he said when he saw that she had opened her mouth to apologize. Kaoru blinked at the cup being held out in front of her and then grasped it with one hand. Still holding the cup, she turned back towards Kenshin, who had already downed his sake and was refilling his small glass.

"I'm sorr…" she started

"It's okay," Kenshin repeated, "just relax and have a drink."

"It's not okay!" she cried out indignantly. "That guy is a jerk and doesn't know how to take **no** for an answer! I've told him a million times, but does he listen to me? NO! He's such an arrogant player and he has no respect for women at all!" she fumed.

"You want me to beat him up for it?" Kenshin asked casually as if he had done it for lesser crimes before. Kaoru started at the words and then sighed as she realized that her ranting wasn't going to change anything.

"Well…do you?" inquired Kenshin. Kaoru 's surprised eyes met Kenshin's dark serious gaze.

"You're serious? I thought you were trying to prove a point," she said incredulously. Kenshin raised an eyebrow and Kaoru suddenly burst out in laughter at the thought of the small man confronting the man twice his size. Kenshin watched in confusion, waiting patiently for the girl to settle down.

"I'm sorry. It's just that…that seemed like something that Sano would say," Kaoru laughed. "And believe me, he's beat Tony up plenty of times and its never done anything to change him. So it won't be necessary."

Kenshin shrugged. "Suit yourself."

Kaoru watched as Kenshin turned his attention back to his liquor and began to sip it slowly. She looked down at the cup of sake and tentatively brought it up to her lips. With a suddenly determined look on her face, she quickly downed the cup and slammed it down on the counter in front of her. Kenshin raised an eyebrow at the strange behavior and slowly began to refill her cup.

_Odd girl._

"Not much of a talker, are you?" she said suddenly as she began to swirl the liquid in her cup.

Kenshin shrugged. "I guess not."

"But you seem to talk to Aoshi a lot," she said sipping her sake and making a face at the taste.

Another shrug. "We're friends."

"Aren't we friends?"

Kenshin turned his eyes towards the girl who was taking a big gulp of her sake. "…Sure."

"Then why don't you talk to me?" she said as her words began to very slightly, almost imperceptibly, slur together.

"What do you want to talk about?" he said slowly.

"I don't know…" she said beginning to sway as she began to gulp even more of her drink.

"Don't drink much, do you?" Kenshin reached up and pulled the cup down from Kaoru's lips. The girl began to giggle at his action. "Sano doesn't like me drinkin' sake. Sayz itz tooo strong for me," she said slurring her words noticeably now.

_Great, I just got a minor drunk._

"Well…I think he's right," said Kenshin grabbing Kaoru's cup of sake as the girl reached for it and then downing it quickly.

"Hey I was drinkin' that!" she said as she began to reach for the entire bottle instead.

"I think you've had enough," he said pulling his bottle out of her reach and putting a hand on her shoulder to steady her before she fell from her seat. He slowly pushed her back to an upright position and dropped his hand back to his cup. "Let's get you something without alcohol," he said reaching over the counter and filling a cup with water from the faucet.

"Kenshin."

"Hmm?"

"You have pretty hair," she said reaching out for his red hair falling over his shoulder. Kenshin gently grabbed her wrist and brought it back down to the counter. "And pretty eyes too."

"…Thanks," he muttered warily watching her hands to make sure they didn't try to touch his eyes too.

"Are you Irish?" the drunken girl asked.

_What?_

"No," replied Kenshin cursing himself inwardly for getting the talkative girl drunk.

"Do you have a girlfriend?"

If Kaoru had been sober and alert, she may have noticed the slight flash in Kenshin's eyes, but the split second reaction would have had the girl thinking she had imagined it.

"No."

"Really?" Kaoru went on. "…cuz you're really hott, and I woulda thought you would have been pretty popular with the girls."

"Oh really?" smirked Kenshin slightly. "You think I'm hot?"

"Oh yeah! You're real handsome," she ranted not really aware of what she was saying. "I bet the girls were all over you during high school."

Kenshin remained quiet after that. It was true that he had been pretty popular with the girls in school, but so had Aoshi. After a while, the two boys had learned to ignore the goggling girls and go about their business without distractions. Besides, the two boys had had enough self respect and morals to stay away from becoming disgusting players like that Tony guy. If there was anything that Kenshin couldn't stand, it was men who thought they were superior to women and felt they could do what they wanted to them. Men like that were simply repulsive.

Kenshin was snapped back to the present by the sudden lack of noise coming from the seventeen year old sitting beside him. The girl had been constantly talking since she got drunk, but now she was sitting still, head bowed and hands in her laps.

_Did she pass out?_

Kenshin leaned in to take a look, when Kaoru suddenly snapped up, hands up and eyes wide. "BOO!" she exclaimed into Kenshin's face. Kenshin quirked an eyebrow as the mischievous look on Kaoru's face was replaced with a frown.

"Dontcha ever react to anything?" she cried out in exasperation. "Are you too cool for emotions? Do you even _have_ emotions?"

"…"

"Wow, you're almost exactly like Aoshi," she said beginning to spin in her bar stool seemingly forgetting her earlier frustration. "I bet I can get a reaction out of you by the end of the night."

"Oh really?" said Kenshin deciding to humor her.

"Yep!" she said happily. "And when I do, you're going to have to call me Kaoru-hime in honor of my accomplishment!"

Kenshin scoffed at the thought. "Might as well call you Kaoru-dono."

"That works too," she giggled swaying dangerously in her seat. Kenshin reached up once again and steadied her as she tipped precariously in her seat.

"You should stop spinning," Kenshin sighed, only half listening as the girl began to talk cheerfully about random subjects.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

About a half an hour passed by with Kenshin not really paying attention to Kaoru's ranting, and Misao and Megumi had come to get Kaoru back on the dance floor. But the minute that they realized she had gotten drunk, they had so graciously left the inebriated girl in his care, leaving quickly saying that Sano was calling them.

Kenshin sighed for what felt like the millionth time that night as Kaoru, once again, launched one of her crazy and random plans to get a reaction out of him. He remained motionless, his elbows propped on the counter, eyes staring straight ahead, as Kaoru leaned in and began trying to whisper seductive words into his ears, at least as seductive as a drunken teenage girl whose speech was slurred could. Kenshin willed himself to ignore the inappropriate words coming out of Kaoru's mouth and keep his stony countenance from cracking into a blush.

He had to give it to the girl, she was persistent. She had tried so many different tactics that Kenshin had simply lost track of her insane methods. She had tried tickling him, poking him, and pinching him - his legs, arms, cheeks, hands, stomach, and anything else she could get think of – numerous times, but with Kenshin's strong will and discipline, his apathetic expression hadn't been broken yet.

What Kenshin didn't know however, was that while he was trying to ignore Kaoru, she was sneaking the sake bottle into her hands. With sake bottle in hand, she sat up quickly and began trying to chug the whole bottle. As Kenshin saw this, his eyes widened, he practically choked on his own cup of sake, hands shooting out to grasp the bottle before Kaoru had a chance to drown herself in more alcohol.

"Hey," she cried out, holding tightly onto the bottle with both hands as Kenshin tried to pry it from her fingers.

"You've had enough," he said through grit teeth.

Without warning, Kaoru let go and Kenshin's eyes widened. He stood up abruptly as practically the whole bottle was emptied onto his face and chest. Kaoru looked at him with shocked eyes before she slowly began to giggle, leading to a full-blown hysterical laughter that gained the stares of people from surrounding tables. Kenshin blinked and a tick seemed to develop in his eyebrow as he clenched his fists in annoyance.

_Calm down Himura…_

Kenshin closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Stiffly, he reached over the counter and grabbed a towel. He slowly wiped his face and gruffly dropped the damp towel onto a laughing Kaoru's head. The feel of the wet towel on her head seemed to snap her out of her hysterical stupor and back to her senses. At least as much senses as a drunken teenager could have. In one of her dizzying mood swings, her amused expression was suddenly replaced with a slightly remorseful look. Kenshin curtly took his seat and downed the remaining sake that hadn't ended up on him.

"Ima sorry Ken-shin," she slurred with an apologetic look on her face. A look of triumph flashed. "I win!" she suddenly exclaimed.

Kenshin blinked, as once again, her visage changed.

"I got a reaction out of you! Now you have to call me Kaoru-hime!" she elaborated with a grand smile.

Kenshin sighed and rolled his eyes at the girl's antics. He brought his hand up to massage his aching head. "I prefer Kaoru-dono," he said deciding to play along. The girl giggled.

_Wouldn't want people thinking that we were college sweethearts, now would I?_

Kenshin distastefully tugged on the collar of his wet shirt, grimacing at the heavy smell of alcohol permeating from it. The pungent smell was only managing to give him a bigger migraine. Maybe Aoshi would let him borrow a t-shirt, perhaps allow him to take a shower too. Kenshin's eyes snapped open when he was almost pushed from his seat from the right. Turning towards the added weight, his eyes were met with raven black hair belonging to none other than the Kaoru Kamiya, AKA Kaoru-dono. Careful not to drop the girl, Kenshin leaned forward. He sighed as he heard a slight snore coming from the peacefully slumbering girl.

_Wonderful, _thought Kenshin. _Just wonderful!

* * *

_

AN: Well theres the next chapter. Sorry it took so long! I just barely finished summer school last week and i was cramped wtih so much studying! I hope you enjoyed this story! I've got to say, I've got a lot of things planned for this story. Anyway...please review!

Ps. I wrote a new story called Madness of the REvolution. Check it out and let me know what you think. I'm going to update that story next.


	5. Rest

Disclaimer: I don't own Rurouni Kenshin, hence why I am writing fanfic…

XXXXXXXTime/scene/ POV change

_Last Chapter:_

_Kenshin sighed and rolled his eyes at the girl's antics. He brought his hand up to massage his aching head. "I prefer Kaoru-dono," he said deciding to play along. The girl giggled._

_Wouldn't want people thinking that we were college sweethearts, now would I?_

_Kenshin distastefully tugged on the collar of his wet shirt, grimacing at the heavy smell of alcohol permeating from it. The pungent smell was only going to give him a bigger migraine. Maybe Aoshi would let him borrow a t-shirt, perhaps allow him to take a shower too. Kenshin's eyes snapped open when weight was added to his right side. Turning towards the added weight, his eyes were met with raven black hair belonging to none other than the drunk girl. Careful not to drop the girl, Kenshin leaned forward. He sighed as he heard a slight snore coming from the peacefully slumbering girl._

_Wonderful, thought Kenshin. Just wonderful!  
_

Chapter 5:

Kenshin watched thoughtfully as Sano tenderly tucked Kaoru into bed and gave her a brotherly kiss on the forehead. He really was lucky that the younger man and Aoshi had walked by to check up on him right when Kaoru had passed out. If they didn't shown up when they did, Kenshin didn't know what he would've done with the slumbering girl. Sano straightened up from his position and turned, flashing his carefree grin Kenshin's direction.

"I imagine you had fun dealing with a drunk Jou-chan?" he said, amusement clearly visible on his face.

"Yeah, tons of fun," Kenshin answered dryly eliciting a chuckle from Sanosuke.

"Well, you now know why we don't like being around when _she_ gets drunk," he laughed just as Aoshi walked in with a spare t-shirt in hand. Aoshi tossed the black shirt to Kenshin, who promptly snatched it from the air.

"Thanks," he mumbled as he pulled his damp shirt over his head to replace it with the slightly oversized t-shirt that belonged to Aoshi. Dry shirt in place, he turned his attention to Sano who was whispering something to Aoshi. The dark haired man raised an eyebrow directed in Kenshin's direction before nodding and mumbling something back. A broad grin appeared upon Sano's face before he looked over at Kenshin with a slightly sheepish expression.

"Heeyyy Kenshin" he drawled.

Kenshin sighed. The moment the younger man had looked at Kenshin, he knew that a request was going to be made. "Yes?"

"Well…I have to get back downstairs to Megumi and Misao," he started slowly, "and I was wondering if you would stay here and watch over Jou-chan until I come back later on. I don't want any drunks wandering up here and stumbling upon Jou-chan while she's drunk and passed out you know."

"You trust me enough to watch her?" Kenshin asked curiously.

"Well…you seem like a good guy and Aoshi here says that you're trustworthy."

"Alright," Kenshin sighed pulling the chair out from the desk and plopping onto it with each leg on either side of the backside of the wooden seat.

"Yoshi! Thanks a bunch!" he cried quickly exiting to rejoin his girlfriend downstairs. Kenshin looked over at Aoshi who was staring at the open door allowing in a stream of light in the otherwise dark room.

"He trusts your judgment," Kenshin commented snapping Aoshi out of his stupor.

"Hai," he nodded glancing momentarily at Kaoru before bringing his glowing blue eyes towards Kenshin's. "…and you've gained his trust and respect."

"I guess so…" murmured Kenshin, propping his crossed arms onto the back of the chair in front of him and leaning his chin onto them.

"Anyway, I've gotta get back to work. When Sano comes back, you can take the room next door. It's empty," said Aoshi departing from the room and closing the door behind him, leaving Kenshin in pitch black. Not that Kenshin minded. He was used to both the darkness and the solitude. His eyes quickly adjusted, and he scanned the room with his glowing violet eyes. The bed was placed between two ornate nightstands, each holding a small lamp and one holding a clock which flashed that it was 12:49 AM. To the right of the desk Kenshin was sitting at, was a closet, probably bare of things. His eyes slowly made their way back to the young woman who was sleeping blissfully underneath a thin blanket.

She really was an interesting girl. Seemingly mature and respectful when sober, she also seemed to have a sense of childlike innocence about her. She was obviously violent when angered or annoyed, yet she also had a soft, caring, and compassionate side to her as well. Not to mention she was incredibly annoying when drunk. The thought brought a small smile to the brooding red head's lips. The pungent smell of sake hanging around Kenshin's hair and damp t-shirt on the floor was proof of that.

Taking in a deep breath and leaning his forehead into his arms, Kenshin allowed his tired eyes to close.

XXXXXXXXX

Kenshin's eyes snapped open as light from the hallway flooded into the room when the door was open by none other than a laughing Sanosuke who was promptly smacked upside the head for being so loud by Megumi. Not bothering to raise his head, he saw Megumi's shadow pointing towards himself, who they probably thought was sleeping, and the prone figure of Kaoru on the bed. He saw the shadow of Sanosuke nod and then the two quietly shut the door and headed for the bed. When the sounds of rustling and creaking from the bed became replaced by light breathing and snoring, Kenshin raised his head and brought his hand to massage the back of his neck, which had become stiff from the position he had fallen asleep in.

3:52 AM blared red on the clock sitting on the nightstand and Kenshin sighed rolling his stiff shoulders and neck. Propping his elbow onto the chair, Kenshin rested his chin onto his palm, letting his unseeing eyes stare out the window at the dim stars above. Slowly, Kenshin felt himself begin to nod off again and bringing his arms back into their earlier position, he laid his head down to rest.

XXXXXXXX

Kaoru awoke to a piercing pain behind her eyes and a soft bed underneath her.

_What happened?_

An arm suddenly fell around her waist and Kaoru stiffened. Ignoring her pounding head, Kaoru struggled to remember the events of last night, desperately trying to distinguish her memories between reality and dreams. She opened her eyes, squinting at the light streaming in through an un-shaded section of the window, and sighed in relief to find that she still had her clothes on. Lifting her head slightly, her peripheral vision caught tufts of brown hair belonging to none other than Sanosuke. She should have known. Kaoru smiled at the peaceful look on her surrogate brother's face as he dreamed. Seeing a large lump on the other side of Sano, Kaoru concluded that Megumi was also still blissfully slumbering as well.

Kaoru relaxed in Sano's embrace and winced at the pain in her head as Sano shifted in his sleep.

"I'll get you an aspirin." A voice so quiet that Kaoru thought she had imagined it, but when she glanced up, she was barely able to catch a trail of flowing red hair before the door was silently shut. So Kenshin had also stayed with them. But where had he slept? Kaoru groaned inwardly. Better to leave the thinking for later when her hangover wasn't so …noticeable.

A few minutes later, Kaoru felt a slight nudge on her cheek and her eyes snapped open to find a glass of water and Tylenol tablet in two hands right in front of her face. Her eyes widened in slight surprise. She hadn't heard him walk in at all!

She slowly struggled into a sitting position on the bed, gently pushing Sano's hand aside and giving Kenshin a weak smile.

"Thanks," she mumbled accepting the cup of water and aspirin from the red-headed man.

"You're welcome Kaoru-dono," he replied. Kaoru almost dropped the cup of water in her hand and her eyebrows shot up in surprise. _Kaoru-dono?_ Turning confused eyes towards Kenshin, who was now sitting on a wooden chair at the desk, her eyes were met with a smirk on the boy's face.

"You don't remember much from last night do you?" he asked.

Kaoru's eyebrows furrowed as she tried to remember what had happened the night before. Blurred images, sensations of spinning and falling, and several other ridiculous images, like flying boxes and giant lizards, came to mind, all in a jumble of thoughts. She winced as the barrage of memories, both reality and dreams, only caused her headache to worsen.

"I guess not…" she mumbled, a look of frustration clearly visible on her face, before she put the aspirin in her mouth and finished off the glass of water. She placed the empty glass on the nightstand beside her and laid back down with one hand on her forehead.

"What time is it?" she mumbled without opening her eyes.

"8 o'clock," Kenshin replied after glancing at the clock on the opposite nightstand.

"I should get up," she mumbled again.

Kenshin remained silent, and to his slight surprise, Kaoru fell back asleep a few minutes later.

XXXXXXXX

It was almost noon by the time the entire group had woken up, eaten breakfast, and was ready to go back to their dorms. Sano, Megumi, and Kaoru even took their showers at the Aoiya, using extra clothes that they had kept in the closet, that Kenshin had thought was empty. Now, the only one that still smelled of sake was Kenshin, whose hair was slightly stiff and sticky from the shower of alcohol it had received compliments of one, Kamiya Kaoru.

"Umm…Did I do anything… stupid yesterday?" Kaoru had asked after taking her shower that morning.

Kenshin had of course smirked. "Stupid?" he asked, "I don't know what you're taking about."

Kaoru had sighed in relief before asking why he smelled so strongly of sake and Kenshin frowned, saying, "Well…_someone_ decided to play tug of war with the sake bottle…"

Kaoru had promptly blushed at the implication, and profusely began to apologize – to Kenshin's dismay – similarly to the way she had when she had mistaken him for a girl.

They were now standing in front of the door to the Aoiya, getting ready to leave.

"Well thanks for all of the fun Misao-chan," Megumi thanked.

"No problem! We should do this more often!" she happily chimed.

"Yeah we should! I'll call you if we come up with any plans," said Kaoru giving the girl a farewell hug.

"See ya around Weasel girl, Ice man," Sano said lazily grinning at them before turning to walk towards the parked cars, ignoring the glare a fuming Misao was giving him. Kenshin watched, standing transfixed in front of Aoshi, as Sano and the two girls walked towards Megumi's and his car at the far end of the lot. As he was about to follow, he felt a slight nudge at his hand and reflexively opened his fist to accept a piece of paper from Aoshi without looking down.

"Just in case," Aoshi muttered so quietly beside his ear that Kenshin almost didn't catch it. Kenshin nodded, mumbling a 'thanks', before walking over to Sano, Kaoru, and Megumi who were waiting for him, discretely slipping the folded piece of paper into his pocket.. Glancing at his car and then Kaoru, Kenshin was met with a slight glare as a smirk rose on his face.

"Uh uh…no way am I going sit in a car being driven by that lunatic again," she said shaking her head and crossing her arms.

"Aww come on…it wasn't that bad was it?" Kenshin teased, forcing his smirk to transform into an innocent grin. "I actually followed the speed limit on the way here last night."

"Yeah, but barely!" she exclaimed. "You're lucky the police weren't around."

Sano laughed loudly throwing his arm over Kaoru's shoulder. "Don't worry Jou-chan. If you're so scared, I'll ride with him," he chuckled, oblivious to the death glare Kaoru was giving him.

"Well good luck," she said pulling Megumi's car door open and sitting down in the passenger seat. "Oh, and you know how to get back right Kenshin?"

Kenshin nodded.

"Cuz Rooster head there is horrible with directions. We've lived here for what, three years and he still occasionally gets lost," laughed Kaoru.

"Oi! I'm right here you know!" Sano yelled indignantly.

The girls only laughed as Megumi got into the car. "We'll meet you at home."

Kenshin nodded and the two boys got into the car. He started the engine, and waited, allowing the girls to pull out of the parking lot first. When their car was out of site, Kenshin promptly put his right hand on the back of Sano's seat and turned to look out the rear window. With the gear shift in reverse, the red head stepped on the gas and spun the steering wheel with his left hand, expertly maneuvering the car out of its spot. He rested his right hand lightly on the gearshift as his car shot out of the parking lot and out into the streets, trailing the direction that the girls had taken moments earlier.

"Damn!" exclaimed Sano with a thrilled grin plastered to his face. "No wonder Jou-chan was so scared." He rolled down the window and looked out the window, watching as cars came whizzing by. "Shit I bet you could probably catch up and beat the girls back to the dorms," he cried looking at Kenshin as he stopped at a stop light.

"Probably," Kenshin smirked. "Let's find out."

The second the red light turned green, Kenshin stepped on the gas and the car jerked forward at speeds way above the speed limit. Kenshin masterfully maneuvered his car around the other vehicles on the street so rapidly, that even Sano began to worry about a collision and slightly clutched his seat belt for comfort. Despite his slight apprehension however, Sano soon grew ecstatic by the 'thrill ride.'

Kenshin's eyes scanned the streets in concentration as he drove, being sure to take in every car, stop light, and pedestrian in the area. He also kept an eye out for any police that may be in the area. While being stopped by the police wouldn't really be a problem, he was still told to keep a low profile and getting into unnecessary complications was not something that Kenshin was hoping to deal with. Seeing that the stop light was turning red, Kenshin quickly manipulated his car into a gas station, cutting through at a more reasonable speed before pulling out into the street beside it. Kenshin decided to take a different route back to the dorms, and just as Kenshin's Nissan pulled into an empty parking spot at the Dorm's parking lot, Megumi and Kaoru came driving in with looks of surprise at finding that that boys were already there.

"We win, we win!" exclaimed Sano jumping out of the car with a broad smile.

"Baka!" cried out Megumi hitting him behind the head. "We weren't racing."

Sano shot his girlfriend a glare before also being hit by Kaoru.

"Hey what was that for!" he yelled rubbing his aching head.

"For being a baka!" she yelled back in mock annoyance, though a small playful smile was on her lips. She was just glad that she wasn't the one in the car with Kenshin.

AN: Well? what do you think? I wasnt going to end here, but seeing as i need to update my other stories, decided that this would be fine. This chapter seemed kinda boring to me, pretty much just wrapping up the drunken part. Next chapter should be more exciting and entertaining. Remember, please review!


	6. Beach

Disclaimer: I don't own Rurouni Kenshin, hence why I am writing fanfic…

XXXXXXXTime/scene/ POV change

_Last Chapter:_

_Kenshin's eyes scanned the streets in concentration as he drove, being sure to take in every car, stop light, and pedestrian in the area. He also kept an eye out for any police that may be in the area. While being stopped by the police wouldn't really be a problem, he was still told to keep a low profile and getting into unnecessary complications was not something that Kenshin was hoping to deal with. Seeing that the stop light was turning red, Kenshin quickly manipulated his car into a gas station, cutting through at a more reasonable speed before pulling out into the street beside it. Kenshin decided to take a different route back to the dorms, and just as Kenshin's Nissan pulled into an empty parking spot at the Dorm's parking lot, Megumi and Kaoru came driving in with looks of surprise at finding that that boys were already there._

"_We win, we win!" exclaimed Sano jumping out of the car with a broad smile. _

"_Baka!" cried out Megumi hitting him behind the head. "We weren't racing."_

_Sano shot his girlfriend a glare before also being hit by Kaoru. _

"_Hey what was that for!" he yelled rubbing his aching head._

"_For being a baka!" she yelled back in mock annoyance, though a small playful smile was on her lips. She was just glad that she wasn't the one in the car with Kenshin._

* * *

Chapter 6:

The human body is an amazing mechanism. Not only does it surpass all mechanical robots and machines, but it contains a mind, a soul that learns and desires…feels. This mind raises the human body to a whole other level. This mind contains intelligence unmatched by any other creature on the planet. This mind is what pushes the body, helps it overcome physical limits that can either do good and help others, or cause harm, furthering the mess of events that we call our lives…

Human Anatomy…the study of the placement of bodily organs and their bodily functions. An interesting and useful subject to be studying in college, and yet with this knowledge, comes a great responsibility, a dark purpose. To better your understanding of the human body to cure malfunctions, or use it for darker purposes…to better ones precision with a weapon? Most would choose the former, but for him, things were different… more complicated.

Psychology… the study of the human mind…the human body's counterpart. It's the perfect subject to study if one wanted to learn everything there was to a human being. The mind…the force behind every action. To understand this, would mean being able to either: a) help people that are having problems in their lives, or b) use it to better predict one's reactions to certain circumstances. Now most people wouldn't have even thought of the latter, but for him, it was the reason that they gave him this class. To keep his skills sharp, to reduce the risk of mistakes during a job, to use this knowledge and better manipulate others…all purposes for him to be studying this subject in college.

Mathematics, a subject that has no secret dark purpose, and used in the same way to make calculations. Yet, even for this subject, it was chosen to fulfill a mission. To keep his mind sharp, keep him accurate and precise when dealing with his 'job.' Together with the other two subjects, people tended to think that he was moving towards the medical field in order to help people. And who was he to argue? Technically, he was using this knowledge to help people…just not in the way that they thought and well… it was better to keep it that way.

XXXXXXX

Kenshin yawned as his fingers drummed lazily on the textbooks stacked on the coffee table in between the TV and couch. His left arm rested on his chest holding onto an ipod. His head was leaning against the arm of the couch, eyes closed and if it weren't for his fingers drumming in tune to the music blaring on his ipod, and his foot tapping against the pillow on the other end of the couch, it would've looked like he was sleeping. One of his legs hung off the side of the couch and rested on his skateboard.

Dimly, through the blasting of music in his ears, Kenshin heard the front door open and sensed Kaoru and Sanosuke come in. Slightly lowering the volume, Kenshin was able to hear the two as they began to talk.

"Is he _still_ sleeping?" said Sano incredulously.

"I dunno. Looks like it." Kaoru walked over to the couch and leaned over to get a better look.

"I'm not asleep," Kenshin said so suddenly that Kaoru and Sano jumped.

"Don't do that!" cried out Kaoru. "We thought you were sleeping."

"Sorry," mumbled Kenshin as he sat up, and rubbed the back of his neck with his right hand, pulling the earphones out of his ears.

"You sure sleep a lot," said Sano as he grabbed the remote control and turned on the TV, flinging himself into the love seat.

Kenshin shrugged. "I've got nothing better to do."

"Why not go out?" asked Kaoru taking a seat next to Kenshin.

"Like where?"

"I dunno, the beach? The pool? The mall? There are plenty of places to go," answered Kaoru.

"By myself? I'd rather sleep," replied Kenshin leaning back into the couch and resting his elbow on the arm of the couch, and his chin in the palm of his hand.

"I guess your right," said Kaoru. "So…when exactly did you say your bed was coming in?"

"Should be delivered by the end of the week," yawned Kenshin pulling out his phone from his pocket to check the time.

"What time is it?" asked Kaoru seeing that Kenshin was pushing his phone back into his pockets.

"Almost 1."

Kaoru's eyes widened slightly as she jerked forward. "Sano! You're supposed to pick Megumi up at 1!" she cried out hitting Sano on the shoulder.

Realizing that Kaoru was right, Sano shot to his feet. "Oh shit! She's gonna kill me for being late!" he exclaimed running to the door after grabbing his keys.

"Told ya you shouldn't have stopped by that liquor store!" Kaoru yelled over her shoulder.

"Yeah, yeah shut up," he grumbled slamming the door in his haste.

"Well he's certainly responsible," Kenshin said, his tone dripping with sarcasm.

"Tell me about it," murmured Kaoru grabbing the remote and flipping through channels before finally settling with the news. Silence settled on the two college students as they listened to the newscaster on the TV report of the current events that have occurred recently.

"…last week, a group of thugs were arrested for using a young girl and the bodies of her murdered parents to smuggle illegal drugs to their "clients." When questioned, they admitted that they weren't the only ones that were using this method and that there were other methods of transporting drugs around," said the young man on the screen.

"I can't believe people would do things like that," Kaoru said crinkling her nose in disgust.

"Greed can push people to do the most amazing things," murmured Kenshin his face betraying no emotion.

"I guess so," she replied watching Kenshin curiously. Though his face showed no emotion, the tone in which he had said it seemed odd to Kaoru. She couldn't really describe it, but she began to wonder who the boy sitting beside her really was. He had been there for over a week already, and they still knew so little about him. All the boy ever seemed to do was sleep, eat, or watch the news with a seemingly bored look. He barely ever went out except to buy groceries or something for his room, and Sano had said that the boy had received phone calls in the middle of the night several times.

Was it his family that was calling and if it was, why were they calling in the middle of the night? A couple of times, the redhead had left the dorm after one of these phone calls and returned to find that Kaoru, Sano, and Megumi were having breakfast in the girls' dorm because Sano had been too lazy to cook. Of course they had invited him over as soon as they realized he was back, but when asked where he had been, he would simply brush aside the question with a vague answer.

"…Kaoru….Oi!"

Kaoru started out of her thoughts and blinked at Kenshin who was staring at her, an eyebrow arched.

"Oh…I'm sorry," she said in embarrassment. "I kind of zoned out for a while there."

"Yeah…What were you thinking about?" asked Kenshin indifferently turning back to the TV so that the girl didn't feel like she had to answer.

"Uh…I don't know," she said. "School starts in like a week. We should go out and enjoy our last few days before it starts," Kaoru said changing the subject.

"What do you have in mind?"

"Well… I have been meaning to go to the beach lately…" Kaoru commented. "What do you think?"

"Sure," shrugged Kenshin. "…though I'd rather sleep."

"Lazy butt," Kaoru giggled. "Come on, you've been sleeping all week and it's scorching hot outside. I'm takin' you to the beach." She grabbed Kenshin's hand and began to drag him on his skateboard towards the hallway. Pushed him into his bedroom, Kenshin stepped off his skateboard and turned as Kaoru headed back down the hall.

"Go get ready. And don't forget a towel," she said opening the front door. "I'm gonna go get ready too."

Kenshin closed his door and leaned back on it. He sighed and looked around his room. He was serious when he said that he would rather sleep, but then again, he hadn't been to the beach to relax in the longest time. It might actually be fun. Moving to his closet, he pulled out a small gym bag and threw a towel and a spare change of clothes into it. He quickly changed into a pair of gray Billabong board shorts with light blue strips and white-lined designs on them. He slipped his wallet, switchblade, and cell phone into a zippered pocket in the bag and headed to the living room. Grabbing a set of keys, he stepped out into the hall and walked next door.

Fumbling with the keys, he pushed one into the keyhole and opened the door. Just as he stepped into the living room however, he practically had to step back out as Kaoru came zooming by with a phone in one hand and a towel in the other.

"Hey Kenshin," she smiled remerging from her room with a backpack in hand as Kenshin closed the door behind him. "You ready?"

"Aa."

"Alright, hold on a sec," she murmured stepping into the bathroom and rummaging through some drawers before coming back out with a tube of sunscreen in hand. Shoving it into her bag, she grabbed her own set of keys and led him out of the dorm room.

XXXXXXXXX

Kaoru spread the blanket out on the sand and shoved the huge yard umbrella into the ground to make some shade. Dropping her things onto the blanket, she pulled out the sunscreen and immediately began to apply it to herself. Kenshin lazily laid on his back, hands folded behind his head, underneath the umbrella and watched as Kaoru pulled her t-shirt over her head to reveal a black bikini top with a blue roxy logo in the corner to go with the black board shorts she already had on. Realizing that he was staring at the younger girl as she rubbed sun block all over herself, Kenshin closed his eyes to keep them from wandering.

A few minutes passed before all of a sudden, the bottle of sunscreen collided almost painfully against his chest. Kenshin abruptly sat up in surprise and Kaoru giggled.

"Put on some sunscreen and let's go in the water," she smiled watching him with expectant eyes.

"I don't want to go in the water," Kenshin said setting the bottle aside.

"Aww come on," whined Kaoru. "Please," she begged, her blue eyes pleading. "Pretty please, please, please."

Kenshin raised an eyebrow and sighed. "…Fine..." He just couldn't say no to the girl's imploring eyes. Not to mention she would probably keep begging until he agreed to go anyway. She was a persistent girl.

Kenshin languidly got to his feet and squirted the white lotion into his hands and rubbed it onto his legs, arms, and face. Scrunching his nose at the smell of the sun screen, Kenshin pulled his shirt over his head and quickly smeared the lotion onto his chest before sealing the bottle and throwing it onto the blanket behind him. Looking up, he noticed Kaoru staring at his chest with widened eyes.

When Kenshin had taken his shirt off, Kaoru was surprised to find that his chest, while well toned, consisted of several faded scars. They weren't very noticeable unless you were standing up close to him, but nonetheless, they were there and very distinct. A few were most obviously slash wounds, as if made by a knife or dagger, but there was one in his side that looked suspiciously like a bullet wound.

Growing increasingly uncomfortable with being stared at, Kenshin cleared his throat. "Hey, up here," he said wryly. Kaoru seemed to snap out of the trance that she was in and looked up into his face, a blush marring her cheeks.

"I-I'm sorry," she said flustered. "It's just that…h-how did you get those? What happened?" she asked her eyes straying back to the old wounds as her fingers moved up to touch one.

Kenshin gently grasped Kaoru's wrist and brought them back down. Kaoru's questioning gaze came up to meet his guarded look. "…From fights," he murmured slightly.

"Fights? Don't tell me you were some punk in a gang back in Japan," she said jokingly, sensing that the red head wasn't very comfortable with talking.

"No… nothing like that," he nonchalantly said letting go of Kaoru's wrist. "So… we goin' in the water or what?"

A smile broke out on Kaoru's face and she nodded, grabbing Kenshin's arm and pulling him excitedly towards the shore while avoiding the other umbrellas and blankets that other people had set out.

Upon reaching the water's edge, Kaoru abruptly stopped as the waves came crashing onto the shore. As the water slowly rolled up around their feet, Kaoru squealed and backed away slightly.

"It's cold!" she cried out. "Let's go back."

Kenshin raised an eyebrow and stared at her. "You're kidding right? It's freakin' hot out here," he said emotionlessly.

"Yeah, but the water's freezing!"

"You're getting into the water," Kenshin stated taking a menacing step towards her. "You dragged me out here, so you better get in there."

"Oh yeah," she smiled. "And what if I don't?"

"I'll make you get in the water," he said a mischievous glint entering his normally guarded eyes. Kenshin lunged after Kaoru who squealed childishly and ran away with a wide smile marring her face and eyes laughing in amusement.

"And how are you going to do that if you can't catch me?" she laughed her eyes sparkling in delight.

"Oh I'll catch you alright," he said with mock arrogance and a smirk forming on his lips.

Standing there, waiting for Kenshin to make his move, Kaoru couldn't help but to admire the young man smirking at her. He really was very attractive and was obviously in good shape, with firm muscles visible on his arms and chest. With a soft violet shade in his eyes, flaming red hair pulled into a high ponytail, and a bandage still plastered to his left cheek, you would think that it would provide for a very unusual picture, but on the contrary, his unusual features only seemed to make him look more breathtaking.

Using her distraction to his advantage, Kenshin rushed forward and scooped her surprised form into his arms. Tightening his grip on her now struggling body, Kenshin began to slowly make his way towards the shore.

"Let me go," she cried out, eyes growing wide at realizing that he was going to dump her into the freezing cold water. Subconsciously, she was surprised not only at his forward actions, but by his obvious strength in being able to keep a firm grip on her thrashing form. He was obviously stronger than he looked and as Misao had said, definitely not shy or timid, just quiet.

Kenshin hauled the girl out until he was just about waist deep in ocean water. He had to admit, it was pretty cold, but that only seemed to motivate him further. Stopping his gait, he was slightly surprised when Kaoru's form suddenly stiffened and she brought widened eyes to his face.

"Himura Kenshin, don't you dare-"

At that precise moment, Kenshin let his grip on her slacken and smirked in amusement as Kaoru's drenched form came spluttering to the surface of the water.

"I can't believe you just did that!" she growled causing his amused smirk to turn into an arrogant one.

"I told you I would, Kaoru-_dono_," he said plastering an innocent smile on his face.

"You're going to pay for that," she said in a confident tone as she quickly splashed the water towards Kenshin. To her surprise however, he completely disappeared from view and reappeared behind her. Spinning around when she felt something hit her head lightly, she saw a smirking redhead holding something green and stringy in his hands. The young woman's eyes widened as she realized just what her companion was holding. Throwing her hands up in defense, she barely shielded her face in time from the kelp flying towards her head. The kelp tangled into her fingers and she hurled it at the redhead in disgust. "Ewww! Seaweed!" she squealed girlishly.

A slight laugh escaped Kenshin's lips before he smothered it and picked off one of the round pieces of the kelp.

"Don't like seaweed?" he said in a questioning tone, "…how bout the bladders?" With that said, he effectively began to lightly toss the green air bladders at the girl. Kaoru tried to avoid the flying projectiles, but to her dismay, Kenshin's aim was accurate and practically every single one of the cursed bladders hit her in one way or another. Ignoring her disgust, the blue eyed teen reached down and grabbed the bladders to throw at Kenshin. But before she could even begin to throw them, she was swallowed up by a particularly large wave and for the second time in the past few minutes, she came spluttering to the surface. Coughing the salty water out of her lungs, she looked around and found that Kenshin had left her and was heading back to shore. Determined to attack the boy with seaweed, she rushed after him.

As Kenshin reached the shore, he turned around and flopped back onto his butt. With his knees drawn up and hands out behind him to support his upper body, he watched as an annoyed Kaoru struggled through the water towards him.

Splashing through the shallow waters, Kaoru glared down at Kenshin with an irritated look. Sensing that the girl was about ready to pelt him with the air bladders still gripped in her fists, Kenshin grinned lazily up at her in a way that he knew would melt all of her anger away, and sure enough, her eyes softened and her hands unconsciously opened up and dropped the projectiles into the shallow water pooling around them. A small shy smile appeared on her face as she looked upon the gorgeous half naked boy smiling at her from below and her heart skipped a beat at the rare grin gracing his lips.

"Sit down," he said gesturing to the water covered sand beside him. She quickly complied and hugged her knees to her chest. Seeing that Kaoru was comfortably sitting beside him, Kenshin allowed his violet gaze to wander until they stopped at a pair of boys roughhousing by the water. His eyes grew distant as he began to see a different pair of boys in a different time.

Kaoru watched as Kenshin's emotionless mask seemed to slip for a moment and a thoughtful look entered his eyes. As seconds ticked by however, his eyes grew dark and a melancholy look replaced his earlier expression. "Kenshin?" she said in slight concern.

He started seemingly having forgotten where he was and turned his now apathetic eyes towards her.

"Hai?"

"…you okay?"

He turned his head away from her, back to the playing children. "Hai," he replied being sure to keep his emotions in check this time.

Wanting to cheer the quiet boy up, Kaoru racked her brain for something to say.

"You know…you're pretty strong," she blurted suddenly.

"Really?" he seemed to state more than ask.

"Yeah, I mean Sano has tried to throw me into the pool a lot of times, but he always has a hard time keeping a grip on me when I squirm, but you seemed to have no trouble keeping me where you wanted me to be," she said.

Kenshin shrugged. "I'm used to it," he said simply. "Had a lot of practice."

"Oh," she said in what Kenshin thought sounded suspiciously like disappointment. "With your girlfriend?"

A smirk rose on Kenshin's lips. "I know you think I'm hott and all, but like I told you the other night, I don't have a girlfriend," he said with mock arrogance enjoying the slight blush that rose on her face. "…and as for the practice, it was with Misao when she was younger."

"Who said you were hott," she said with a stubborn pout on her face.

"You did Kaoru-dono, the other night," he smirked watching as her blush deepened and her eyes widened imperceptibly.

"Why do you keep calling me Kaoru-dono anyway?" she asked trying to change the subject as she turned her head the other way to hide her blush.

"Cuz you told me to."

"Oh."

_Great! _She thought_, just great! And just when I was beginning to convince myself that I didn't do anything stupid that night, he goes and proves me wrong._

"Wanna play a game?" she asked suddenly, trying to get his mind off of whatever other stupid things she may have done that night.

Turning towards her, he raised an eyebrow. "What kind of game?"

"A question game."

"Why?"

"Because you've been Sano's roommate for over a week and I think it's about time we got to know each other a little better," she replied matter-of-factly.

"…Sure," Keshin shrugged though inwardly he sighed.

"Okay, you can go first," she said turning her bright eyes towards him.

"Okay…umm….what part of Japan are you from?"

"Tokyo," she smiled. "Now it's my turn."

"Lets see…any siblings?"

"Nope, I'm an only child," he replied. "Favorite color?" Kenshin hoped to keep it somewhat impersonal though he doubted it would work.

"Blue."

_Figures._

"Hmm…you say you don't have a girlfriend, but did you ever _have _one?"

"…Hai," he said keeping his eyes straight on the horizon. "…What about you and Sano?"

"What about us?"

"You two ever dated?"

A small wistful smile appeared on her face. "We did a while back, but it never worked out. We have more of a sibling type of relationship," she said. "…What about your parents, where do they live?"

"They're dead," he simply stated. "How about yours?"

"Same… So…how close are you and Aoshi?"

"Close, like brothers. You have any siblings?"

"One…a younger brother…or two if you count Sano," she said a bright smile appearing on her face. "But my younger brother is still in Japan. He's planning on moving here as soon as our aunt back home can raise the money to send him over."

"I see…"

* * *

AN: Well sorry for the loong update and sorry for ending it so abruptly. I just had to get it out before the weekend ended. I would have gotten it out yesterday, but it wouldn't let me upload my document...for some reason. Anyway please review! I am truly sorry for making you wait and i'll try not to keep you waiting as long for the next update!!!

Please Review! Reviews really really help motivate me!


	7. A Brat and a Breakin

Disclaimer: I don't own Rurouni Kenshin, hence why I am writing fanfic…

XXXXXXXTime/scene/ POV change

"English"

'Japanese'

* * *

_Last Chapter:_

"…_Hai," he said keeping his eyes straight on the horizon. "…What about you and Sano?"_

"_What about us?"_

"_You two ever dated?"_

_A small wistful smile appeared on her face. "We did a while back, but it never worked out. We have more of a sibling type of relationship," she said. "…What about your parents, where do they live?"_

"_They're dead," he simply stated. "How about yours?"_

"_Same… So…how close are you and Aoshi?"_

"_Close, like brothers. You have any siblings?"_

"_One…a younger brother…or two if you count Sano," she said a bright smile appearing on her face. "But my younger brother is still in Japan. He's planning on moving here as soon as our aunt back home can raise the money to send him over."_

"_I see…"_

* * *

Chapter 7: 

Kenshin listened to his 'friends' chatter endlessly about their first week of school, which had just ended with a small Friday night outing at the local Japanese restaurant called the Akabeko, all planned by a certain blued eyed girl. As they walked down the hallway towards their dorm rooms, Kenshin's eyes narrowed as he realized that the door to his and Sano's dorm was slightly ajar. Sano blinked in surprise when Kenshin, whom he had been talking to, suddenly disappeared from beside him and reappeared up in front of the girls with his arm out to stop them. The three girls glanced at each other in confusion, before turning their gaze to the short red headed man in front of them, whose eyes were narrowed in concentration.

"Kenshin, what's –" Kaoru stopped when Kenshin's finger went up to his lips in a gesture for silence.

Kenshin reached into his pocket and glanced back at Aoshi, who nodded and began ushering the girls to stand behind him. With a quick flip of his wrist, his black switchblade snapped open and Kenshin swiftly made his way into the dorm, ignoring the worried whispers of the others out in the hall. Letting his eyes adjust to the darkness of his home, he scanned the living room and finding that nothing was out of place, he headed towards his slightly opened bedroom door. But just as he was about to enter the hallway, his senses went off and he shifted to the side just in time to see a fist sail mere centimeters from his face.

Without wasting a breath, Kenshin whirled around and slammed his assailant's body up against the wall with his switchblade held threateningly at his throat. Kenshin's eyes narrowed as the middle aged man smiled viciously down at him, feeling unthreatened by the metal at his throat.

"Your reputation precedes you Battousi-san," said the man with a knowing look in his eyes.

"Who are you?" Kenshin hissed warily.

"I had heard that you were an amazing kid, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised," he continued on ignoring the redhead's questions.

"Who are you?" Kenshin repeated his eyes narrowing further.

The man's smile slowly changed into a smirk. "The boss wants to talk to you," he said.

"You still haven't answered my question," said Kenshin. "Who are you?"

"You'll find out soon enough" he said in an arrogant tone. "Now let me go and I'll take you to him."

"I don't think you're in any position to be telling me what to do," whispered Kenshin his patience beginning to run thin.

"On the contrary, I think _we _are," he said just as Kenshin felt a blade lightly touch his back.

"Let him go," a soft voice whispered beside his ears. Inwardly, Kenshin cursed himself for being so careless and overconfident. Stiffly, Kenshin released the taller man's shirt collar and dropped his hands to his sides. "Atta boy," smirked the man in a condescending manner.

"I take it, _they_ sent you," Kenshin said forcing himself into a relaxed stance.

"Very perceptive of you," the man smirked. "Our boss wants to discuss some things with you."

"They'll get suspicious if I walk out of here with some wannabe robbers," said Kenshin glancing at the front door which was still slightly ajar.

"Don't worry about that," said the second man walking up close to the door. "Just play along and follow us. We hear you're a pretty fast runner."

"What do…" Before Kenshin could even finish, the man that was standing in front of him shoved him hard and the man by the door quickly threw it open. The red head was so surprised that he stumbled out into the hallway and landed painfully on his butt.

"Kenshin!" he heard Kaoru from the direction of the girls' dorm where Aoshi had obviously been trying to bring them.

Just as he looked up, the two men took off towards the staircase and Kenshin scrambled to his feet. Glancing back at Aoshi once again, and seeing complete understanding in his icy blue eyes, he turned his attention back to the two that had just disappeared into the stairwell.

XXXXXX

Aoshi nodded at Kenshin as his eyes seemed to say 'don't let them follow me,' before turning his attention to Sano, who was just about to take off after the redhead.

Putting his hands on the boy's shoulder, Aoshi stopped him and took a step forward.

"He can't handle them by himself! Did you see the size of those guys?!" cried out Sano.

"He'll be fine," Aoshi answered.

"Why did he even go after them? What matters is that nobody's hurt," said Megumi.

"Himura's always had a strong sense of justice," answered Misao.

"We can't just leave him," insisted Kaoru looking worriedly towards the door leading into the stairwell.

Aoshi sighed. "Sano stay here, there may be more of them around," he said sensing that he was about to protest. "I'll go after him."

Without even waiting for the spiky haired boy to answer, Aoshi took off after Kenshin. He did not doubt that Kenshin was fine, but the others, minus Misao, were not so sure and would not relax feeling that the small redheaded man might be in danger. So he would go, if only to keep them from acting brashly in order to 'save' their new friend. Aoshi sped down the steps and as he reached the parking lot, hesitated because he didn't know which direction his friend had taken. Jogging onto the sidewalk, he was slightly surprised to see a flash of red hair disappear down an alleyway on his left.

With such a late start, Aoshi would have expected Kenshin to have gotten a lot farther then just a nearby alleyway. Heck, he should've already caught the two suspected robbers. Walking over to the alleyway and finding a desolate dead end, he quickly scanned the sides for a door. Finding one, Aoshi stepped out of the alleyway and leaned back against the wall casually to wait for his friend to finish his business.

The redhead's lack of speed meant only one thing; that he wasn't trying to catch the two men, but rather following them. So there really was no danger in the first place.

XXXXXX

Kenshin blinked as the darkness of the room was suddenly replaced with bright, almost blinding, lights. The room was an ordinary looking office with a wooden desk in the center and two comfy chairs placed in front of it. Behind the desk sat a sleazy looking man with a mustache. Despite the professional looking room, he wore an old polo shirt and some plain brown pants.

"Himura! Well what a surprise!" cried out the man good-naturedly. Kenshin had to restrain himself from rolling his eyes childishly at the man. "It's been what, nearly three months since I've seen you last? How've you been?"

"Iizuka-san," Kenshin nodded as a form of acknowledgement, eyes a cold amber. "What's my assignment?"

"Jeeze Himura, you need to loosen up," laughed the man. "It's always about business with you."

"Iizuka…" Kenshin said, a slight edge in his voice.

"Alright alright," sighed Iizuka. "Try to be nice to him and this is what I get," he mumbled. "Anyway, here is most of the information you will need," he slid a manila envelope across the desk to Kenshin, "Katsura-san will inform you of the rest of the details soon."

Kenshin picked up the envelope and nodded. "Is that all?"

"That's it for now. Oh, and one more thing, if the US government – their CIA or FBI or whatever – find out what we are doing, we may have to cooperate and work with them, by their laws and terms. So be sure to take care of this discretely if at all possible.

"Understood," said Kenshin bowing quickly and leaving the small office. Hastily, Kenshin exited the alleyway and wasn't surprised to be joined by Aoshi.

For a while, they walked slowly back the dorms in silence, before Aoshi decided to break it with a question he more than likely knew the answer to.

"Was it them?" he asked keeping his eyes straight out in front of him.

"Hai," Kenshin murmured fingering the envelope in his right hand.

"So I guess your vacation is over?"

"Hai."

"What's with the wannabe robbers?"

Kenshin gave a small sigh and an annoyed look entered his eyes. "Over the past few years, Iizuka has suddenly taken up the sport of 'testing' me before giving me my assignments."

"In other words, he's playing with you."

"Exactly… though he insists that he is 'keeping me on my toes,' as he puts it. He and I both know that he is doing this for his own amusement," said Kenshin rolling his eyes at the man's immaturity at times.

"I see he hasn't changed much," commented Aoshi.

"Nope."

By this time, the two men had reached the front of the dorm building and were climbing the stairs two at a time. As they reached their floor, Kenshin quickly stashed the envelope into his room before he and Aoshi entered the girl's dorm where their friends were watching T.V.

As the two entered the room, the three girls and Sano turned around. "Did you get them?" asked Misao.

Aoshi sent her a look. "No, they got away."

"Oh…"

Kenshin casually rounded the couch and lifted Kaoru's legs, which had been spread out on the couch, before sitting down and replacing her feet on top of his lap so that she wouldn't have to change positions. "They were really fast," he said leaning back comfortably.

"They didn't look all that fast to me," said Sano his eyes watching Kenshin suspiciously.

Kenshin shrugged. "Maybe you should've gone after them, then."

Sano's eyes narrowed slightly and a tense silence seemed to cover the room.

Sensing some hostility from the normally cheerful Sano, Aoshi cleared his throat. "Misao.. we should get going," he said breaking the silence.

"Uhh…yeah," said Misao getting up to her feet. The girls, of course, promptly got to their feet to say good-bye, and Kenshin merely nodded his head at Aoshi as a gesture of farewell.

Rolling his neck tiredly, Kenshin listened as the girls gave each other hugs and then promised to make plans to go out like this again, before the door closed and Kaoru and Megumi returned.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

_So much for my afternoon!_

Kenshin sighed as he leaned against the glass railing overlooking the ramp filled with arriving passengers at the LAX Airport. He had been planning to start his assignment today, but apparently that would have to wait. Not that he was complaining; he had been putting off opening the envelope that Iizuka had given him all week and one more day couldn't hurt. Besides, Sano had asked him personally if he could pick the kid up and Kenshin wasn't about to pass up the opportunity to regain the trust that had started to waver ever since that break-in nearly a week ago.

So once again, Kenshin allowed his eyes to scan the crowds of people walking up the ramp, pushing up carts of luggage, for a "brat about 10 years old with dark crazy hair and dark eyes" as Sano had put it. Apparently, the kid was Kaoru's little brother and he had somehow scrounged up enough money to come to America. He had called Sanosuke and the two decided to surprise Kaoru with his arrival. So in other words, Kaoru knew nothing about her brother's coming and Kenshin was the one responsible for picking him up and keeping him occupied until Sano brought Megumi and Kaoru home from their classes.

Seeing a boy that seemed to fit Sano's description, Kenshin stepped back from the railing and headed to the gate where he would meet the kid. Slowly, Kenshin made his way over to the boy, who was obviously scanning the crowds of people for the familiar rooster head.

"Yahiko?" Kenshin said as he stepped up to the boy. The kid jumped and whirled around.

"…Yeah…who are you?" he asked in a slightly accented English.

"Kenshin, I'm a friend of Sano," he answered his face betraying no emotion.

"…Why didn't he come?"

"He had work and couldn't get off on such short notice." A scowl appeared on the boy's face and Kenshin shrugged. He picked up one of the boy's luggages, and began to walk away, knowing that the boy was following him. Catching up to the redhead as they exited the airport building, Yahiko looked up to the short man.

'Do you speak Japanese?" he asked in his native tongue.

'A bit,' Kenshin answered keeping his face straight. The scowl on Yahiko's face grew deeper and they continued on in silence. Just as they entered Kenshin's car, a phone started ringing and Kenshin shoved his hand into his pocket and and flipped his cell phone open.

'Hai.'

'_Did you get him_?'

'Yeah I got him.'

'_Alright, thanks a lot,_' said Sano's voice.

'No problem,' he answered.

'_Also, we won't be back until about 4 o'clock cuz Kaoru needs to pick something up at a friend's house. So you can just drop the brat off at the apartment, if you want, or entertain him or whatever you want._'

'Alright. So I guess we'll see you at four?'

'_Yep. Bye'_

Kenshin snapped the phone closed and glanced at the boy in the passenger seat. The scowl on the boy's face had grown deeper, if that was possible. A smirk appeared on Kenshin's lips, before he asked, 'Are you hungry?'

Yahiko glared at the redhead before turning to look out the window and grudgingly nodding his head.

_What a jerk! A bit of Japanese my butt! He speaks it perfectly!_

* * *

AN: Sorry for the lonng wait and for those of you also following my other stories, i'm extremely sorry for not updating much. School's been so stressful and i haven't been in the writing mood. I know, i know more excuses, but I'm sure most of you know how it feels when life gets in the way of writing. lol. ya so i hope you liked this chapter. Next Chapter will have some Yahiko&Kenshin interaction and who knows what else. PLease Reveiw!!!! 


	8. Yahiko

Disclaimer: I don't own Rurouni Kenshin, hence why I am writing fanfic…

XXXXXXXTime/scene/ POV change

* * *

_Last Chapter:_

'_Alright, thanks a lot,' said Sano's voice._

'_No problem,' he answered._

'_Also, we won't be back until about 4 o'clock cuz Kaoru needs to pick something up at a friend's house. So you can just drop the brat off at the apartment, if you want, or entertain him or whatever you want.'_

'_Alright. So I guess we'll see you at four?'_

'_Yep. Bye'_

_Kenshin snapped the phone closed and glanced at the boy in the passenger seat. The scowl on the boy's face had grown deeper. A smirk appeared on Kenshin's lips, before he asked, 'Are you hungry?'_

_Yahiko glared at the redhead before turning to look out the window and grudgingly nodding his head. _

_What a jerk! A bit of Japanese my butt! He speaks it perfectly!_

* * *

Chapter 8: 

Yahiko glared unblinkingly at the redheaded man sitting across from him in the In-n-Out restaurant, as his violet eyes stared blankly back. Kenshin raised an eyebrow as the unannounced staring contest played out and smirked when he noticed Yahiko finally blink and look away, his ever present scowl deepening on his face.

"You don't like me do you?" said Kenshin amusedly taking a bite out of his cheeseburger.

"Now how'd you get that idea?" said Yahiko wryly as he too began to eat his own lunch.

Kenshin shrugged. "I don't really care if you like me or not, but just to let you know, I'm Sano's new roommate, so you're going to have to get used to me."

Yahiko's eyes widened slightly. "You're the kid they were talking about?"

Kenshin shrugged and continued to eat his burger and fries. Yahiko frowned and turned back to his lunch. Continuing on in silence, the two finished in less then 15 minutes and got up to leave.

Just as the two exited the fast food restaurant, Yahiko suddenly froze as he yanked his hands out of his pockets and stuffed them into his back pockets. Not finding what he was looking for, he turned around and looked through the glass doors towards the table that they had been sitting at.

"What's wrong?" asked Kenshin.

"Uhhh….nothing," he murmured, his dark gaze scanning the floor that they had just walked by.

"Are you looking for this?"

Yahiko's head whipped around and his gaze fell on the slender cell phone in Kenshin's hands. His face, Yahiko realized, was fixed with a cocky smirk and amusement was apparent in his purple eyes.

"How did you…I thought I…" Yahiko gaped, his eyes wide open in astonishment. "It…it was in my pocket when we sat to eat…" he finally managed to get out.

"I know," said Kenshin.

"But when did you…"

"When we got up," the redhead shrugged.

"How did you know I took it?" asked the young boy, awe still clearly apparent on his face.

"Slip of the hand? Anyway, what do you wanna do?" asked Kenshin as he unlocked his car doors and shoved his car keys into the ignition.

"What do you mean? Aren't we going to meet with Kaoru and Sano?"

"Naw," he said, "They got things to do and they won't be back to the dorm till around 4. So what do you wanna do?"

Not satisfied with their current situation, the young boy glared out of his window and said, "How should I know? I just got here."

"Good point," murmured Kenshin nonchalantly. "Uhh…You like go-karts?"

"….I guess so," mumbled Yahiko without turning around. Turning his keys, Kenshin started his car and backed out of the parking spot.

"Where are we going?" asked the young boy a few minutes later, his curiosity finally getting the better of him.

"Speedzone."

"Speedzone?"

"Speedzone," repeated Kenshin not bothering to elaborate. Except for the radio humming in the background, the ride there was a silent one, and unlike his sister, Yahiko wasn't freaked out by Kenshin's tendency to drive above the speed limit. On the contrary, the boy seemed to thoroughly enjoy it, if the slight grin on his face was anything to go by.

XXXXXXXX

Yahiko gripped the plastic blue gun in his hands tightly, eyes set unflinching upon the Time Crisis arcade game in front of him. Stepping on the peddle, he aimed and began to shoot, only to realize that the points were being added to Kenshin's rapidly growing score once again, nearly three times that of Yahiko's. Doubling his efforts, the young boy threw aside his inhibitions at getting hit by the enemy and started shooting at all of the men rapidly. Despite his efforts however, his recklessness got his character killed faster and once again, Yahiko was stuck watching the redhead play on his own until he too finally lost the rest of his lives.

"Damn," murmured Yahiko. "You win _again_." The older boy had beaten him at practically everything that they had done. Kenshin was a better driver on the tracks outside, video gamer, golfer in miniature golf, and even a better pick pocket then him.

"What's next?" asked Kenshin allowing the boy to pick out the next game. Scanning the arcade with his dark eyes, Yahiko's eyes landed on the glowing air hockey table on the other side of the room.

"Air hockey," he said leading the way. As they arrived, Kenshin swiped his play card and the table lit up, expelling air out of the hundreds of tiny holes all over the top. Determined to win at least one game against the redhead, Yahiko pulled out the puck and hit it with the white mallet. After several passes, Yahiko began to get frustrated and started to violently attack the puck.

No matter how hard the young boy tried, however, Kenshin seemed to be faster then the puck and effectively defended his goal. Yahiko was getting so frustrated and forceful, that he even caused the puck to rebound and enter his own goal a couple times, eliciting an amused smirk from the redhead standing across the table. Yahiko's scowled deepened, and when he finally managed to score on Kenshin, he had the distinct impression that the older boy had _allowed _it to happen.

"You did that on purpose," accused Yahiko tossing his mallet back onto the table as the game ended.

Shrugging, Kenshin smirked. "Maybe."

"You're a jerk, you know that?"

"That's what I've been told."

Yahiko scoffed slightly. While his expression didn't show it much, he had actually grown to like Kenshin during the past few hours with the guy. Yeah, it was rather annoying and irritating to lose to him time after time at everything that they did, but any guy willing to spend nearly $80 at an arcade with a boy he barely knew, was cool in the 10-year-old's book.

"We should get going," said Kenshin glancing at his cell phone.

"But we haven't finished up all of the money in the cards yet," responded Yahiko holding his out in his hand.

Kenshin shrugged. "It's fine, we'll use it next time." Yahiko followed Kenshin out of Speedzone and got into the car.

"Hey, are you loaded or something?" asked Yahiko eyeing the card that still contained nearly $10 of the forty it originally had. "I mean no sane guy would spend that much money at an arcade for no reason whatsoever."

"Naw," said Kenshin glancing at his rear-view mirror. "I'm freakin' po."

"Po?" Yahiko raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, I'm so poor that I can't even afford the rest of the word," he said smirking at the confused look on Yahiko's face.

"That was lame."

"Maybe… but it's true."

"Then how can you afford to spend eighty bucks at an arcade in one day? You have like a… rich uncle or something?"

"Something like that," Kenshin replied.

"What do you mean 'something like that?' You either do, or you don't."

"We're here," said Kenshin killing the engine and effectively ignoring Yahiko's question.

"Hey wait," said Yahiko running to catch up with Kenshin as he entered the building. "You still haven't answered my question."

_Okay, so maybe not so effectively…_

Kenshin shrugged. "You're really persistent, you know that?"

"Well I did live with Kaoru and Sano, didn't I? It kinda comes with the territory."

"Good point."

"So, your uncle's rich?" asked Yahiko as he followed Kenshin up the stairs.

"Uhh…I guess so," said Kenshin resignedly, leading the boy to his dorm room. Shoving his keys into the door, he allowed Yahiko to enter first, before walking in himself and locking the door behind him.

"So, is this Sano's dorm?" asked the younger boy, his eyes wandering around and taking everything in.

"Mine too," said Kenshin throwing his keys onto the table and heading into their small kitchen.

"Oh, right," murmured Yahiko as he looked through a collection of CD's that were thrown lazily on the coffee table in the living room.

"You want anything to drink?" Kenshin called from the kitchen, half his arm already in the refrigerator pulling out a bottled water.

"Uhh…sure, what'd ya got?"

"…Pepsi…coke…lemonade…water…" listed Kenshin, "…beer."

"Let me guess," replied Yahiko. "It's Sano's beer."

"Aa."

"Uhh, I'll take the coke then."

"A'ight," said Kenshin pulling out the aluminum can and shutting the fridge behind him. With drinks in hand, Kenshin sprawled out on the couch and turned the TV on. Yahiko got up from his position on the floor and took the other sofa, reaching over to accept the coke can being offered to him by the redhead.

"Thanks," he murmured, watching as Kenshin flipped through channels, before he was offered the remote.

"Here," said Kenshin handing the boy the remote control. "Watch whatever you want."

"What are you gonna do?"

Kenshin shrugged and settled himself more comfortably on the couch. With his bottled water placed carelessly on the coffee table, and his feet drawn up on the couch, shoes and all, the boy shut his eyes. He listened as the voices on the TV were occasionally silenced as Yahiko changed the channel, and after several minutes, he started to peacefully doze off.

"So, how much longer till Kaoru and Sano come?" asked Yahiko thoughtlessly, causing Kenshin's eyes to snap open in slight annoyance.

"Dunno," mumbled Kenshin shutting his eyes again. "Pretty soon." Silence fell between the two once again as Yahiko continued to flip through the channels on the television. Finally, after what seemed like only five minutes, Kenshin began to sense Yahiko becoming restless. Sighing, Kenshin sat up and turned to the boy who was watching him.

"Bored?" asked Kenshin placing his feet on the carpeted floor.

"A bit," murmured Yahiko throwing the remote onto the table. "Wanna arm wrestle?"

Kenshin raised an eyebrow, before finally sighing once again and nodding. "Sure, why not." Sliding onto the floor, he placed his elbow onto the coffee table and watched as the spiky-haired boy settled himself across from him. Grasping hands, Kenshin waited for Yahiko to give the signal to go.

"Ready?" Kenshin nodded. "Go!"

Kenshin sat with a bored look on his face as the boy across from him began to exert all of his energy. Allowing Yahiko to believe he was winning, Kenshin let the boy push his hand down so that it was inches from touching the table beneath them. He watched in amusement as Yahiko's face flushed red in his effort to slam Kenshin's hand down. In the background, Kenshin heard the door open - though Yahiko was too engrossed in their arm wrestling match to notice.

"Hey Sano," Kenshin said without turning around. Yahiko's head snapped up in surprise, and a second later, the boy's hand was slammed.

"H-hey! You cheated! You did that on purpose!" he spluttered jumping to his feet.

Smirking slightly, Kenshin shrugged and leaned back against the couch behind him. "Maybe."

"Why do you have to be such a jerk?" he grumbled, hands crossed across his chest.

Sano laughed loudly and circled around the couch to place his hand on the boy's spiky-black hair.

"It means he likes you, Yahiko-chan!"

"Don't call me -chan!" he exclaimed slapping the older boy's hand off of his head.

"Did I just hear – Oh my gosh, it _is _you!" said Kaoru from the door, dashing towards her brother. "Yahiko! How'd you get here? _When_ did you get here? Why didn't you tell me you were _coming_?" she said all in one breath, as she encircled Yahiko in a great bear hug.

"Ack! I can't breath Busu!" he said his voice muffled. Yahiko suddenly found himself with a big bump on his head. "Itai! What'd you do that for!?"

"Don't call me Busu," she huffed angrily, before suddenly turning back into a worried motherly figure.

Kenshin watched from his position on the floor as the seventeen-year-old fussed over Yahiko. He watched her turn from surprise, to anger, to worry, to confusion, all in a breadth of a few seconds, and he couldn't help but get dizzy from the violent mood swings.

"…Kenshin picked me up from the airport," Yahiko said drawing Kenshin's waning attention at the mention of his name.

"Kenshin picked you up?" Kaoru said in surprise, her eyes widening as if she had forgotten that the redhead was even in the room. Turning to him, she grabbed his hand dramatically and pulled him to his feet. "Thank you so much for taking care of Yahiko for us Kenshin-san!"

_What's with the –san?_

Kenshin rolled his eyes, before pulling his hand gently out of the girl's grasp. "No problem, Kaoru-dono."

"Kaoru-dono?" Yahiko raised an eyebrow.

Kenshin stared at the boy for a few seconds before nodding. "Uhh…yeah, you know, your sister, Kamiya Kaoru. Her," he said slowly pointing to the girl standing in front of him.

"Yeah I know who she is!" he ejaculated causing Kaoru to giggle. "But what's with the –dono?"

"What about it?"

"Why do you use it?"

"Why not?"

"Well, it's kinda old-fashioned…"

"And…?"

"And nobody ever uses it anymore."

"So?"

"So it's weird."

"I don't see anything wrong with it."

"Never mind!" Yahiko threw his hands up in exasperation, and Kaoru and Sano sniggered.

Smirking to himself, Kenshin ran his fingers through his red hair and sat down on the couch. He had to admit, he actually didn't mind hanging out with the boy as much as he had thought. His antics kept him entertained and he couldn't help but to be impressed with the amount of cunning and knowledge the boy possessed, despite his obvious childhood innocence.

Turning towards Sano, who had taken a seat next to him, Kenshin asked, "Where's Megumi-san?"

"Kitsune? She had to go to her internship last minute," said Sano grabbing a hold of the water bottle on the table and helping himself to a waterfall. "So what'd you two do for like 4 hours anyway?"

"We – "

"4 HOURS!?" exclaimed Kaoru effectively cutting Kenshin off. "What do you mean four hours?"

"I took him to Speedzone," said Kenshin ignoring Kaoru's outburst.

"Speedzone huh? Nice," said Sano grinning.

"Yeah, Speedzone's pretty cool," Yahiko piped in.

"I bet Kenshin beat you at every game," laughed Sano causing Yahiko to glare at him.

"It's not like you could beat me either Sano," smirked Kenshin causing Yahiko to snigger in return.

"HELLO?!" yelled Kaoru suddenly. The three boys turned and stared at her blankly causing her face to redden slightly.

"Yes…?" Kenshin urged.

"Don't tell me Sano made you pick Yahiko up _four hours ago_," she said arms akimbo.

"Okay then, I won't," replied Kenshin.

"Sano!"

"What'd I do?!" he said a slightly surprised look on his face.

"You made him pick Yahiko up four hours ago?! And you expected him to take care of a kid he doesn't even know, for _four hours_!"

"I…But…"

"Four hours is a _long time_ Sano!" reprimanded Kaoru loudly.

"Yeah, but…"

"I bet you didn't even give him money to take care of Yahiko."

"He…"

"Four hours at Speedzone is a lot of money, not to mention lunch," she said. "You _did_ feed my brother didn't you?" she said suddenly turning on Kenshin with eyes that made him wince inwardly.

"Hai." _SCARY! Note to self: never piss her off! _thought Kenshin.

"Sano! You're going to repay Kenshin for his help!"

"Wait! But Kaoru…"

"No buts!"

"But he…"

"Maa maa," said Kenshin placing a hand on both of their shoulders. "Sano didn't make me do anything."

"But he could've done it himself," she protested stubbornly. "If he wasn't such a lazy…"

"But then it wouldn't be a surprise for you."

"I guess, but…"

"Alright then," Kenshin said stepping passed the two and into the hallway.

"Where are you going?" Yahiko asked seeing as Kaoru had gone back to glaring at Sano.

"I'll be in my room."

* * *

AN: I actually had this written a few weeks ago, but I was planning on making a few changes. Turns out, I'm not really sure how I want to change it, so here it is. Let me know what you think of it please! 


	9. Skating

Disclaimer: I don't own Rurouni Kenshin, hence why I am writing fanfic…

XXXXXXXTime/scene/ POV change

_Last Chapter:_

"_Maa maa," said Kenshin placing a hand on both of their shoulders. "Sano didn't make me do anything."_

"_But he could've done it himself," she protested stubbornly. "If he wasn't such a lazy…"_

"_But then it wouldn't be a surprise for you."_

"_I guess, but…"_

"_Alright then," Kenshin said stepping passed the two and into the hallway._

"_Where are you going?" Yahiko asked seeing as Kaoru had gone back to glaring at Sano._

"_I'll be in my room."

* * *

_

Chapter 9:

Without knocking, Kaoru walked straight into the redhead's bedroom. Over the past few months, she had grown accustomed to and comfortable with Kenshin and she no longer bothered to knock, seeing as he never seemed to get angry at her. The first thought that came to mind was 'clean.' Kenshin's room was very clean, spotless even and possibly cleaner then her own room. He was one unusual boy. The redhead was once again lying on his bed, his ipod headphones in his ears, eyes closed, and his heel resting on the skateboard beside his bed. That's all he ever seemed to do on his free time. Sleep. He wore a grey hurley shirt and dark blue shorts that hung low on his waist revealing checkered boxers. Like always, his red hair was tied up in a ponytail and hung loosely over his shoulder and his ever present band-aid on his left cheek.

Silently shutting the door behind her, Kaoru quietly made her way over to the boy and plucked a headphone out of his ear. Placing it into her own ear, she promptly took a seat on his stomach eliciting a soft grunt from the boy and causing his eyes to snap open.

Bobbing her head slightly, Kaoru ignored the glare coming from the redhead below her.

"Was there something you needed Kaoru-dono?" he asked lowering the volume on his ipod so that it wouldn't destroy the girl's eardrums.

"Nope," she said continuing to bob her head to the music.

"Then was there a particular reason for you to wake me up?"

"Nope," she grinned and began to bounce on his stomach.

"Do you mind getting off?" he asked starting to get annoyed and struggling to get her to stop.

"Nope," she said happily once again.

Seeing that she wasn't about to get off of him anytime soon and because his chest was starting to ache with her constant bouncing, Kenshin decided to take matters into his own hands. Seeing no other option, Kenshin resorted to the best way he knew to get the girl off. Raising his hand, he poked her once in the stomach causing her to squeak and grab his finger with a determined look in her eye. Letting go of his ipod, he poked her with his other hand making her flinch forward. Taking advantage of the opportunity, Kenshin rolled off of the bed so that Kaoru slipped off of his stomach and landed with a loud thud on the ground.

"Meany," she pouted getting off of the floor.

Rolling his eyes, Kenshin pulled himself up onto the bed and sat with both feet planted firmly on his skateboard, elbows on his knees. Walking over the desk on the other side of the room, Kaoru looked down at the college books thrown carelessly onto its surface. Come to think of it, Kaoru couldn't remember Kenshin ever opening those books, let alone reading them.

"Kenshin," she said in an inquiring tone as she carefully opened up the anatomy book on the top of the stack.

"Hmm…"

"I never see you study," she said flipping through the pages.

"So…" he said raising an eyebrow.

"Well…wouldn't your uncle get mad if you got bad grades in school?" she asked turning towards him.

"Who said I was getting bad grades?" he replied as he pulled his hair-tie out of his hair and began to fix his slightly mussed ponytail.

"Well if you don't study, how are you supposed to get good grades?" she said grabbing the book and taking a seat in front of the redhead as he combed through his hair with his fingers. She couldn't help but to be amused by his slightly girlish tendencies.

He shrugged. "I don't need to study. I already know it."

"You mean to tell me that you know every single thing in this book without even reading it."

"Of course," he smirked arrogantly.

"Yeah right," she said rolling her eyes and throwing the book at the boy while his hands were still occupied with tying up his ponytail.

"Oi!" he protested before letting go of his hair and grabbing a hold of his book before it could collide with his chest.

Kaoru's eyes widened slightly before she smiled sheepishly at him. "…hehe…my bad?"

"Yeah whatever," he said getting up and putting his book back on his desk. Seeing the boy with his red hair down, Kaoru was once again surprised at just how long his hair was. It had been a while since she had seen his hair down and it went to about the middle of his back, nearly longer than her own hair.

"So…What are you doing here anyway Kaoru-dono?" asked Kenshin as he pulled the chair out from his desk and brought one of his legs over it so that he sat with the back of the chair in front of him.

Sighing dramatically, Kaoru pulled herself up from her position on the floor to sit on the twin sized bed. "I don't know. I'm bored."

"Sano and Yahiko?" asked the redhead raising an eyebrow and crossing his arms across the back of the chair in front of him.

"They left to go to the arcade again," she responded. "So, I thought I would come over and see if maybe you wanted to do something since it _is _a beautiful Saturday afternoon."

"Like what?"

"I don't know…" she said looking into the lavender eyes of her best friend's roommate. She wondered how the Japanese boy could have possibly inherited such an exotic look, but quickly brushed the frequent thought aside as she saw the boy sigh. Glancing down and seeing the roughed up skateboard, an idea came to mind. "How about teaching me how to skateboard? I've always wanted to learn. You any good?"

Raising an eyebrow, Kenshin eyed the girl in front of her trying to decide whether she was being serious or not. Shrugging slightly, he said, "Uhh….sure, why not."

"Really? Alright, I know of a small skate park near here," she said getting up and pushing the skateboard with her foot towards the redhead.

Sighing once again, Kenshin slowly got up from his chair and pushed it in towards his desk. For once, he had hoped that he would be able to sleep the afternoon away without being disrupted, but he was quickly learning that with his new 'friends,' that was nearly impossible. Once again, he was being pulled into one of the blue eyed girl's random activities. While he could refuse, he knew that it was only a matter of time before she came back to drag him into one of her other activities. He found that by appeasing her and satisfying her, he would have more time to relax afterwards. Besides, Kenshin hated to admit it, but he found the girl somewhat intriguing with her random mood swings and tomboyish, yet at times girly tendencies. Although her eyes seemingly revealed her every thought and feeling, there were times, very little times of course, when Kenshin would be thrown for a loop by the girls bipolar personality. Her innocence and willingness to trust everybody often times frustrated the redhead, and brought about a set of even more frustrating emotions he hadn't felt in a long time and which he tried to suppress and ignore.

_How could somebody her age possibly still be so naïve and trusting?_

Kenshin blinked as Kaoru touched his arm and snapped him out of his thoughts. Giving him a confused look, Kaoru said, "You alright? You kind of just zoned out there…"

"Yeah…sorry about that. Just thinking," he said clearing his throat and shrugging nonchalantly.

"Like what?" she asked her sapphire eyes showing curiosity and concern.

"Uhh… Don't worry about it. Ready to go?" Kenshin asked kicking the skateboard into his hands in an attempt to distract her. A bright smile appeared on Kaoru's lips as she nodded and led them out of his dorm room and into the hall.

XXXXXXXXX

"So…what do I do?" asked Kaoru uncertainly eyeing the skateboard below her and placing a foot unsteadily onto the shaky board.

"…Get on," said Kenshin as if it was the easiest thing in the world.

"Yeah…but how?"

Sighing slightly, Kenshin stepped forward. "Here, I'll show you." The redhead easily stepped onto the board with little difficulty and spread his feet out so that it was balanced. "You want to have your feet on top of where the wheels are."

Stepping off of the skateboard, he moved back so that Kaoru could give it a try. Stepping up cautiously towards the wooden board, Kaoru once again gingerly placed her left foot onto the board. Deciding to put aside her inhibitions at making a fool out of herself, Kaoru placed her right foot towards the back of the board. Unfortunately, her left foot had been placed near the center and by placing her weight towards the back of the board, it lifted the front and Kaoru stumbled back bracing herself for a very painful fall. The fall never came, however, as Kenshin's quick eye had immediately detected the misbalance and his reflexes reacted so quickly that Kaoru had barely got onto the board before Kenshin's firm grasp was on the sides of her arms keeping her steady.

Blinking and feeling her cheeks heat up, Kaoru wondered how the boy had reacted so quickly, but rather than dwell on the subject, hastily fixed the position of her feet. Once Kenshin was sure that the girl was steady on the board, he slowly released her. Kaoru stood on the board waiting for her thrumming heart beat to slow and trying to ignore the tingling sensation from Kenshin's hands.

For the next hour, Kenshin coached her from the side, giving pointers only when he felt she needed it, and by the end of the hour, Kaoru could move and turn decently enough. As soon as Kenshin found the girl comfortable enough on the board that she wouldn't fall so often, Kenshin sat on the side with his knees drawn up and arms resting loosely on his knees. The redhead watched as Kaoru pushed herself slowly around in front of him. He had to admit, she was a quick learner and needed very little from him. She practically learned on her own through trial and error and he was impressed by her resourcefulness. She really was a very pretty girl, with her bright blue eyes and dark black hair flowing freely behind her from her high ponytail. As his eyes dropped further down her back, Kenshin suddenly looked away as he began to feel a pulsing between his legs.

_No! I can't get attached. I won't. Think about something else, Himura._

Looking around the skatepark, the redhead observed as young boys steadily pushed themselves around the park while laughing and trying to perform tricks on their boards. That's when he felt it. Someone was watching him, and he couldn't recognize the presence. Narrowing his eyes, Kenshin's eyes scanned the park, but he just couldn't detect where it was coming from because the ki was slightly masked. He wasn't just dealing with an amateur. This was someone trained and dangerous. And this wasn't the first time either. He had been feeling this same ki watching him so many times throughout the month that he's had to circle around to make sure he wasn't still following him before heading home.

_Time to go…_

Hesitating slightly, Kenshin wondered whether he should just leave Kaoru to draw the attention to himself and away from her, or if leaving her will prove to be more dangerous for the young girl. He decided that by now, whoever was following him had probably already seen him interacting with the blue eyed girl and leaving her behind may end up being a fatal mistake. Getting up slowly so as not to raise suspicion in whoever was following him, Kenshin casually approached the girl who had stopped upon seeing him rise. "What's wrong?" she asked seeing his eyes slightly narrowed.

"Nothing," said Kenshin relaxing his features to hide his worry. "We should head back."

"Okay…" said Kaoru suddenly feeling a slight sense of urgency.

Quickly kicking the skateboard into his hands, Kenshin grasped Kaoru's elbow and began to lead her to his car, when all of a sudden, a tall man dressed in black jumped out at them from behind. Senses screaming, Kenshin pulled Kaoru to his side, eliciting from her a slight gasp, just as a fist came sailing through the air where she had been standing. Reacting purely on instinct, Kenshin swung his skateboard around lightening-quick and just barely hit the man's hand as he jumped back to avoid the attack. This was definitely no amateur.

Before his attacker could recover, Kenshin quickly pushed Kaoru towards his car, and kicked back into the man's chest effectively shoving him off balance. He swiftly rounded his car and got into the driver's seat. Without even bothering to buckle up, he shoved his keys into the ignition and backed out of the parking spot. Vaguely, he noticed Kaoru fumbling with the seatbelt before it clicked.

"What's going on? Who are they?" cried Kaoru looking out the window anxiously for a sign of pursuit.

"I don't know," he replied, eyes narrowed and concentrated on bringing the girl away from the danger.

_Of course, of all the times they could have attacked me, they choose to attack me when I'm with a civilian. I'm so stupid! I should have known better!_

"What do you mean you don't know?! Why would they attack us?" she cried out somewhat hysterically.

"I don't know who they are," said Kenshin raising his voice slightly higher. "Calm down! They're not following us." Despite his reassurance, however, Kenshin could still feel his accelerated hearbeat and the adrenaline pumping through his veins. He could also sense the slight fear and uncertainty surrounding the girl beside him.

"Where are we going?" she asked as she realized that they were not heading in the direction of their dorm.

"Circling around to make sure we don't lead them home," he said calmly, eyes focused on the streets in front of him and quickly changing gears to accelerate through the roads.

"I thought you said they weren't following us?" she said quietly so as not to cause him to lose focus.

"Just a precaution." Kaoru gripped her seatbelt tightly, but said nothing more. She just couldn't understand why somebody would attack them. Was it just a random mugging? Just a random thief thinking he could get some quick cash from a girl and a man who was small enough to be mistaken for a girl. That was the best explanation she could come up with. But how had Kenshin known that the man was there? There was something that the redhead wasn't telling her and she knew it. His secrecy bothered her and frustrated her, but she pushed aside her thoughts.

"I guess it would not be a good idea to tell the others of this?" asked Kaoru cautiously.

Kenshin blinked in surprise. He had been pondering on that same question for the past few minutes. "Why do you say that?" he asked glancing over at the girl.

Her eyebrows furrowed, "Well, I mean, the guy was probably just trying to rob us right? I mean, I see no other reason for him to attack us. Sano and Misao will only over react and try to track the guy down or something."

Nodding, Kenshin turned a corner.

_So she thought it was a thief. Better to keep it that way I guess…but what if he attacks her alone next time…_

Gripping the steering wheel tighter, Kenshin's eyes narrowed in anger and frustration. If he told Sano, the fighter may grow suspicious of him and cause unnecessary trouble, but in the end, may possibly bring the girl more protection than Kenshin himself could provide considering his background and duties. Pulling his cell phone out with one hand, Kenshin quickly texted "Need to talk" to Aoshi before finally pulling into the parking lot of their dorms.

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AN: Sorrry for the extremely long wait. Junior and Senior year of high school is sooo busy. Anyways, here's the next chapter. Some action has finally begun and some romantic feelings possibly? Well, let me know how it was, and i'll try my best to update my other stories as well as this one in a more timely manner, though i can't make any guarantees. Please Review!


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